“They have been in a position to pin down a good-sized lion … underneath a mountain bike till we arrived”
Wildlife brokers euthanized the lion after the assault. Picture by dssimages / Adobe inventory
A gaggle of mountain bikers in Washington used their power in numbers to thwart what might have been a deadly cougar assault on Saturday. In a response {that a} Washington Division of Fish and Wildlife legislation enforcement officer hailed as “heroic,” 4 members of the group have been in a position to battle off the attacking cougar. They used one in all their mountain bikes to pin the cougar down till assist arrived.
The sufferer was taken to Harborview Medical Heart in secure situation on Saturday afternoon, the place she obtained therapy for accidents to her face, neck, and jaw. She has since been launched from the hospital, in line with KOMO News.
“They 100% saved their pal’s life,” WDFW’s Sgt. Tempo instructed KOMO. “They have been in a position to pin down a good-sized lion with its claws and tooth and every thing else underneath a mountain bike till we arrived.”
The assault occurred on the Tokul Creek path system close to Fall Metropolis, which lies northwest of Snoqualmie within the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The 5 mountain bikers have been driving collectively on the path when a mountain lion attacked a 60-year-old lady within the group. WDFW was notified of the assault at 12:48 p.m. on Saturday, in line with a press release from the company.
“It jumped from the aspect of the street and latched onto her and her pals have been in a position to detach and battle this factor off,” Tempo mentioned.
A spokesperson with the King County Sherriff’s Workplace instructed the Seattle Times that the opposite cyclists have been in a position to preserve the lion pinned down with a mountain bike till a WDFW agent arrived. The wildlife officer then shot and killed the cougar, a younger male that weighed 75 kilos. Eyewitnesses reported seeing one other cougar close by. WDFW brokers searched the realm with monitoring hounds however have been unable to find a second cougar by dusk.
Tempo instructed KING News that the cyclists “simply occurred to be within the flawed place on the flawed time,” since mountain lions usually hunt alongside creeks just like the one the place Saturday’s assault befell. He mentioned it’s additionally unsurprising {that a} youthful lion was concerned, as they’re extra more likely to prey on people than older, mature lions. (WDFW is ready for a tooth pattern evaluation to verify the age of the cougar, however the company reported that it was a sub-adult tom.)
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Though assaults by mountain lions on people are uncommon, Washington has recorded just a few of those incidents lately. In Might 2022, a lion attacked a 9-year-old girl who was enjoying hide-and-go-seek at a church camp in jap Washington. The sufferer survived however needed to be airlifted to a hospital the place she underwent surgical procedure for wounds on her head and higher physique.
The final deadly mountain lion assault to happen in Washington State took place in 2018. It concerned two mountain bikers who have been driving on a path northeast of Snoqualmie.