Woman Killed In Rare Mountain Lion Attack On Colorado Hiking Trail
With all of our modern technology, our modern lifestyle, our comfortable homes, and so on, it's easy for some people to forget that we're part of the natural world, too. Part of that means that we, like any animal, are subject to predation. It's not common; most big predators have learned that humans are dangerous and steer clear. But apex predators remain apex predators, and they will on occasion decide to prey on a human, especially a hiker or jogger alone and unarmed on a trail.
That's what appears to have happened to a solo hiker on a mountain trail in Colorado on Thursday.
A solo hiker who authorities believe was killed by a mountain lion on a remote Colorado trail on New Year’s Day was not the first person to encounter a big cat in the area in recent weeks.
Gary Messina said he was running along the same trail on a dark November morning when his headlamp caught the gleam of two eyes in the nearby brush. Messina pulled out his phone and snapped a quick photo before a mountain lion rushed him.
Messina said he threw his phone at the animal, kicked dirt and yelled as the lion kept trying to circle behind him. After a couple of harrowing minutes he broke a bat-sized stick off a downed log, hit the lion in the head with it and it ran off, he said.
The woman whose body was found Thursday on the same Crosier Mountain trail had “wounds consistent with a mountain lion attack,” said Kara Van Hoose with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Officials were awaiting confirmation.
Mountain lions (also called cougars, pumas, and panthers), Puma concolor, are something of a biological oddity; they're technically not a "big" cat, which are of the genus Panthera. That includes lions, tigers, jaguars, and leopards. Mountain lions are known as a "large small cat," being more closely related to the South American jaguarundi and the African cheetah. But they are, in their range, apex predators, and deer are a common prey. Humans, of course, are more or less in the same size range as deer.
Two cats have been killed in the area since the as-yet unnamed woman's body was found.
Wildlife officials later tracked down and killed two mountain lions in the area — one at the scene and another nearby. A necropsy will determine if either or both of those animals attacked the woman.
A search for a third mountain lion reported in the area was ongoing Friday, Van Hoose said. Trails in the area remained closed while the hunt for the animal continued. Van Hoose said circumstances would dictate whether that lion also is killed.
The investigation, which will include examining the stomach contents of the two cats that have already been killed, is ongoing.
While we don't yet know all the details of this case, it's an important object lesson nonetheless. Nature isn't a Disney movie. There are animals out there that can be dangerous. When hiking, fishing, jogging, sightseeing, or enjoying any outdoor activity, it's important to remain aware of one's surroundings at all times. There's almost nowhere in the United States where there are no dangerous wildlife; mountain lions, bears, large ungulates like bison and moose, and even feral hogs can be dangerous.
Remain aware. Remain alert. If you're proficient with firearms, carry one. If not, at least carry bear spray or something of that nature. Always keep in mind: We're not immune to the natural world, any more than any other critter.
Photo: National Park Service via AP
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