Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park was closed Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 4, and will remain closed due to recent mountain lion activity.

There were few details given about the reason for the closure, but an alert from OC Parks said it was “out of an abundance of caution.”

OC Parks staff is working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and UC Davis Wildlife Health Center biologists who are investigating.

The presence of mountain lions in public parks and the increase in people spending time in the parks have increased over the last 20 years, leading to more interactions between the public and wildlife, officials said.

At times, parks have closed for days or even weeks after a sighting.

Since 2001, UC Davis researchers have conducted the “California Mountain Lion Project” to focus

See Full Page