Since many of us ride and hike in mountain lion territory, I
am sending the following notice that was broadcast this morning on the
California State Parks network re: a lion attack on two humans in one of our
parks located along California’s
north coast. While lion attacks on humans are very rare, and a lion attacking
two humans is almost unheard of, it does happen. So be aware when traversing
lion country that these large predators can be dangerous, even deadly.
Dear Colleagues:
Many of you heard that yesterday we had a mountain lion
attack at PrairieCreekRedwoodsState Park. It looks like
you'll be hearing more about this in your local media - following is a quick
account of what occurred.
A 70-year-old man, 67-year-old woman (husband/wife) were
hiking at Prairie Creek Redwoods SP. They were well into the hike when the wife
heard the husband scream. She looked behind her, saw her husband on the ground
with a mountain lion on top of him.
She struck the lion several times with branches, it did not
respond, she stabbed it in the eye with a pen, it didn't respond, she resumed
hitting it with branches. The lion finally let go of the husband, moved off
several yards, and continued to watch the couple.
The couple left the area and walked about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile
for help.
State and National Park Rangers responded as did State Park
Maintenance staff, Fish and Game responded. Prairie Creek is within the Redwood
National and State Park Partnership.
The victim is in stable and fair condition, at this time he
is expected to recover – he seems to be in good spirits.
Two mountain lions have been dispatched, one yesterday, one
today, both lions were found in the vicinity of the attack. The thought is
that one of the two was the aggressor. Both animals are being analyzed to
confirm this.
The victims live in Fortuna and are now at MadRiverHospital in Arcata.
Fish and Game, and District staff just completed a local
press conference where this information was shared.
Clearly this couple was fortunate to walk away from this
incident under their own power - and you have to admire the wife's successful
attempt to fight off the attacking lion. They used good thought, kept calm and
survived.
