Mountain Lions Viciously Kill 15 Alpacas on Northern California Farm

A Lake County alpaca farm was devastated last week after a series of mountain lion attacks left 15 animals dead in just three nights.

Retired Navy nurse Julie Barr, who has raised alpacas for nearly a decade on her 340-acre ranch north of San Francisco, said she had “never lost an animal to attack” before the incident. The lions first struck on August 17, smashing through a fence and driving the alpacas into a desperate attempt to escape.

“When we found them, eight were dead and four were badly injured,” neighbor Jesse Cude told SFGATE. Several had to be euthanized on the spot.

Cude kept watch the following night and witnessed two lions, each weighing close to 100 pounds, sprint past him and back into the pen. Two more alpacas died that night, and additional losses followed the next evening. In total, 15 alpacas were killed.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials confirmed the attack, noting that once lions enter an enclosure, they often go into “kill mode,” striking every moving animal. After initially issuing a non-lethal hazing permit, the agency later granted a depredation permit to lethally remove one adult lion.

For Barr, the loss is both emotional and difficult to reconcile. “It’s not like they just killed one and ate it,” she said. “They just killed.”