Wild Cattle, Dogs Reportedly Ruining SoCal National Monument

INLAND EMPIRE, CA -- A national monument in southern California is reportedly being destroyed by wild bulls, cattle and dogs. The Sand to Snow National Monument, which received its designation in 2016, is enduring mayhem as bulls destroy vegetation, dogs kill cattle and cattle wipe out trails.

The Los Angeles Times reported park officials are struggling to combat the dangerous animals as they scare away visitors.

"On a ridgeline near a popular stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail, five feral bulls, each the size of a small car, were snorting, stomping and pawing the ground — postures indicating they were ready to charge," the Times reported. "The bulls gazed down on human observers; some lowered their footlong horns. Then they lumbered on, trampling the trail and devouring native vegetation in one of California's newest national monuments."

There have also been pit bulls who are eating the wild cattle, the newspaper reported.

The animals have Terry Anderson of the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep, concerned about the future of the native bighorn sheep. Anderson told the Times that the cattle can "transmit disease" to the sheep.

Jack Thompson of the Whitewater Preserve described the area as a "Jurassic Park."

Federal officials said they plan to send a team to the park this month to come up with a plan to tackle the animals. State officials have already been unsuccessful in luring the dogs away, the Times reported.

The 154,000-acre monument, which attracts more than 50,000 visitors each year, stretches from northern Riverside County to San Bernardino County. The most popular destination within the park is the San Gorgonio Mountain, which is just south of the Sierra Nevada.

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