Deputy Escapes Attack by Mountain Lion

[Weedygarden]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/colorado-deputy-escapes-mountain-lion-attack-animal-shot-killed


A mountain lion was fatally shot after attacking a civilian and a deputy at an RV park in Colorado on Wednesday.

The big cat was captured on video nearly sinking its jaws into the neck of the deputy in Larimer County before members of law enforcement converged and the animal was kicked off.

Witness Gregory Scot Paul was able to capture the encounter from inside a trailer after the big cat jumped on the deputy.


“My heart goes out to her,” Paul told the Loveland Reporter-Herald. “If she hadn’t put her arm up, it would probably would have gotten to her neck.”


Both the deputy and the civilian were transported from the scene with non-life threatening injuries, according to the paper.

The mountain lion was later killed by a Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer. Multiple gunshots shots could be heard in the video after the deputy was freed.

The deputy's name has yet to be released by the Sheriff's office.

Much of Colorado is described as "prime mountain lion country," according to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. There are estimated to be between 3,000 to 7,000 mountain lions in the state.




https://eb2.3lift.com/pass?tl_click...958482284233690&sid=64&ts=1584143008&cb=94539

 

[SheepDog]

That cat was really young and really desperate. Adult mountain lions know that people are dangerous and hard for them to kill. One bicyclist in King county fought off a mountain lion with his pocket knife. He suffered wounds to his arms from the cat's claws but the bites did no damage. They kill deer by grabbing the throat and suffocating the animal. They don't have the strength to break the spine.

 

[Sentry18]

I saw that yesterday, crazy. Only the version I saw was unedited. After the cat runs off the officers shot at it and someone shouted about people being inside (presumable inside a building). Rule #4: be sure of your target and what is behind it.

 

[Weedygarden]

That cat was really young and really desperate. Adult mountain lions know that people are dangerous and hard for them to kill. One bicyclist in King county fought off a mountain lion with his pocket knife. He suffered wounds to his arms from the cat's claws but the bites did no damage. They kill deer by grabbing the throat and suffocating the animal. They don't have the strength to break the spine.

It attacked two people, the deputy and another person. It tested positive for rabies, so both victims are being treated for that.

I read an excellent book, "The Beast in the Garden," by David Baron a number of years ago. It was mostly about mountain lion attacks in Colorado, and included the response of the people of Boulder County, an extremely liberal county in Colorado.

https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Garden-Predators-Suburban-America/dp/0393326349
"
"Reads like a crime novel . . . each chapter ends on a cliff-hanging note."―Seattle Times

When residents of Boulder, Colorado, suddenly began to see mountain lions in their backyards, it became clear that the cats had returned after decades of bounty hunting had driven them far from human settlement. In a riveting environmental tale that has received huge national attention, journalist David Baron traces the history of the mountain lion and chronicles one town's tragic effort to coexist with its new neighbors. As thought-provoking as it is harrowing, The Beast in the Garden is a tale of nature corrupted, the clash between civilization and wildness, and the artificiality of the modern American landscape. It is, ultimately, a book about the future of our nation, where suburban sprawl and wildlife-protection laws are pushing people and wild animals into uncomfortable, sometimes deadly proximity. "

 

[SheepDog]

Rabies explains the attacks.