Cougars vs. The Obscenely Rich

It does make you wonder who to root for. We get the occasional cougar out here on the SF peninsula, although we've never seen one in our neighborhood. The closest I've come is chasing deer through the yard and away from a peach tree. A few months back, the Fish and Game people actually shot a cougar out of a tree in a Palo Alto neighborhood. People wrung their hands a bit and wondered why they couldn't have just tranquilized it. It seems it's not quite as reliable as you might have been led to believe by watching Marlin Perkins on Wild Kingdom.

So here comes the New York Times to report on the cougar population on the peninsula. They pick one of the most obscenely rich neighborhoods in the bay area, Atherton, the town on the south side of Redwood City. Larry Ellison just put his Atherton home on the market for $25M. Ray Lane, who made billions as Oracle president for a while still lives there and is apparently unhappy he has to deal with cougars in his yard. Still, the Atherton police chief

traces the recent fear to a man named Matt Thomas, a 54-year-old retiree who has been known to ask permission from his neighbors to comb their yards in search of cougar droppings.

Last summer, after his gardener said he saw a mountain lion strolling down the street, Mr. Thomas placed a letter in scores of mailboxes describing what he said was a spike in sightings. He warned them to keep closer watch over their children.

Since then, Mr. Thomas has devoted countless hours each week to his cause. He constantly reads about mountain lions, plays amateur tracker and generally serves as a thorn in the side of local officials.

The fact of the matter is that neither the residents nor the police department have enough to do with their time over there. I love the police blotter in the local paper, and comparing Redwood City crime with Atherton crime is always worth a chuckle. Here is Atherton:

DISTURBANCE Residents complained to the police that juveniles, some on scooters, were "playing a yelling game" at 9:47 p.m. Sunday.

Redwood City is usually more like Grand Theft Auto in comparison.