21-year-old killed in mountain lion attack, younger brother survived - first fatal mauling in California since 2004



A brutal mountain lion attack took the life of a 21-year-old California man, and left his younger with "traumatic injuries," according to authorities.

Two brothers – ages 18 and 21 – were reportedly antler shed hunting in Georgetown, California. A mountain lion attacked the pair in the wilderness of the remote area of Northern California on Saturday afternoon.

During the vicious mountain lion attack, the brothers were separated in the area about 40 miles northeast of Sacramento.

The younger brother called 911 at 1:13 p.m. to report the animal attack, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

Around 1:46 p.m., deputies began searching the area for the brothers.

Deputies and paramedics located the older brother and encountered the mountain lion that was crouched next to the 21-year-old California man on the ground, according to authorities. Law enforcement officers reportedly fired shots "scaring the mountain lion off so they could render aid" to the man on the ground.

Sadly, the older brother had succumbed to his injuries from the mountain lion attack and was already dead by the time emergency crews were able to get to the man.

The 18-year-old brother suffered “traumatic injuries” to his face and was transported to a local hospital for treatment, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office stated.

Authorities did not reveal the name of the man mauled to death in the animal attack or the younger brother who was injured.

Wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the El Dorado County Trapper were summoned to locate the mountain lion involved in the fatal attack. The mountain lion was located and animal agency agents "dispatched it," according to officials.

Mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has reported 13 mountain lion attacks in the state since 2004. There has only been one fatal mountain lion attack in that time period, which happened in 2004. A 35-year-old male was killed by a mountain lion in the Whiting Ranch Regional Park.

There have only been three fatal mountain lion attacks on humans in California since 1994, according to the agency.

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'I could feel the bones crushing': Cyclists valiantly fight off cougar that had their friend down for the count



A group of seasoned female cyclists were ripping through the forested Tokul Creek trail northeast of Fall City, Washington, when they came across a pair of cougars. The female cat took off running. The young male cougar, however, stuck around for a fight and a feast.

Owing to the perseverance and grit of the five cyclists — all in their 50s and 60s — the cougar ultimately lost the fight and became a feast for worms.

KUOW-FM reported that the cyclists met at the Tokul Creek trail on Feb. 17, then ventured some 19 miles in before encountering the cats. The group comprised Keri Bergere, 60; Annie Bilotta, 64; Auna Tietz, 59; Tisch Williams, 59; and Erica Wolf, 51.

The cats burst from the brush, dividing the riding team.

Tietz shouted, "Cougar! Cougar!"

The yelling was apparently enough to prompt the first cat to flee the scene, but not the other. The male lion, evidently unfazed, lunged at Bergere.

"Looking to my right, I saw the cougar's face," Bergere told KUOW. "It was just a split second, and he tackled me off my bike."

The cougar pulled the rider into the ditch that runs alongside the trail and clamped down on her jaw.

"I thought my teeth were coming loose, and I was gonna swallow my teeth," Bergere recalled. "I could feel the bones crushing, and I could feel it tearing back."

The beast, which the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife indicated was roughly a 1-year-old 75-pound cougar, had Bergere pinned and down for the count.

"I felt like it was suffocating me," said Bergere. "I could taste the blood in my mouth."

As the cyclist breathed what could have been her last, she reportedly heard the roar of her fellow riders and some choice language.

"These ladies are not big, and they were killing this cougar," said Bergere. "They were not going to let it get me."

"I immediately tried to choke the cougar, which was like trying to choke a rock," Bilotta told KING-TV. "Then, Erica and Tisch come over with sticks and a rock and we're hand-to-hand combat battling this thing."

While the riders thwacked at the beast with rocks, sticks, and an almost useless 2-inch knife, Bergere desperately attempted to unhinge its jaw, stabbing her fingers into its eyes, nostrils, and mouth.

Bilotta reportedly joined Bergere in digging into the cougar's mouth while Tietz yanked on the beast's leg.

"The cougar had his claws pretty much around her, in attack mode," Tietz told KUOW. "Like, 'I will have my prey now, and within a couple minutes I will eat her.'"

Looking to adopt the "most drastic measure," Tietz found a 25-pound melon-sized rock. She hoisted it between her legs about a foot off the ground, got the thumbs-up from Bergere, whose head was just next to the cougar's, then dropped the rock. Once was not enough, so Tietz dropped it on the cougar another four or five times.

This drastic measure was not, however, enough.

"I was sitting down, and I actually said, 'I can't do this any more,'" said Tietz. "But then I saw all the other girls doing their thing and helping, and I of course regained strength, and I saw, 'Okay, I can do this.'"

The riders refused to relent, and their fighting paid off: After fifteen minutes in the grips of the cougar, Bergere finally was able to break free of its jaws.

Bergere, bloodied but still alive, crawled over to the trail while her fellow riders struggled to keep the cougar down.

The riders reportedly grabbed Wolf's $6,000 bicycle and used it to pin down the cat until help arrived.

"I know for a fact I would be dead if they didn't come back in, I would just be gone," Bergere told KING. "That cougar had me."

WDFW Officer Chris Moszeter arrived on the scene and put a bullet between the cougar's shoulders while the women held it down, bringing the battle to a close.

"The people on the scene took immediate action to render aid, and one of our officers was able to arrive within minutes to continue medical aid and coordinate transport," said WDFW Lt. Erik Olson. "We may have had a very different outcome without their heroic efforts."

According to a GoFundMe campaign set up to help Bergere with her recovery, she suffered severe trauma to the face and permanent nerve damage.

Bergere was released from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Feb. 22 and reunited with an earring the beast had torn out and consumed.

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Photo: Former Super Bowl champion slays massive mountain lion with bow and arrow after 200-pound beast slaughtered neighborhood dogs



A former NFL player slayed a massive mountain lion weighing nearly 200 pounds after the animal was "wreaking havoc" in his neighborhood.

Derek Wolfe, a former NFL player who played for the Baltimore Ravens and won the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, shared an incredible photo of the mountain lion he took down with a bow and arrow.

Wolfe said he received a call from a friend who is a hunter regarding a "giant" male mountain lion that had been "wreaking havoc in a rural neighborhood" in Colorado.

The former NFL player said, "He had already killed two of her dogs and was living under her porch, nervous what he might do next."

Wolfe and his hunter friend started tracking the mountain lion, and quickly discovered a mule deer that had been killed.

Wolfe hiked 9,600 feet up a mountain in the Colorado Rockies, and suddenly the big cat was in front of him. Despite being exhausted, dehydrated, and cramping from the grueling hike, Wolfe was able to slay the mountain lion with a direct hit with a bow and arrow.

He said that he "had to crawl backwards down the mountain" to bring the mountain lion to the truck. Wolfe admitted that he fell 10 feet off a rock on the way down the mountain.

Wolfe shared a photo of the enormous mountain lion on his Instagram. The former defensive tackle, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall, is seen hoisting the mountain lion that stretches nearly as far as Wolfe's body. The mountain lion is estimated to be about 195 pounds.

Reactions online varied, and some attacked Wolfe for killing the mountain lion. However, Wolfe's kill was completely legal under Colorado state law.

A spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife informed TMZ Sports that Wolfe did everything by the book and his hunting license and is "in good standing."

Wolfe, who is an avid hunter, described the takedown of a male mountain lion (known as a Tom) during an episode of "The Drive" sports-talk radio show that he co-hosts.

"I love hunting deer and elk, and mountain lions kill deer and elk, and mature male mountain lions kill the cubs of female mountain lions to get them to go back into heat," Wolfe said. "I feel like I am doing my part by taking care of some of these Toms. It is not easy."

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'I owe her my life': Hero dog who saved owner from mountain lion attack has died



A hero dog has passed away after protecting her owner from a mountain lion attack in Northern California.

Erin Wilson was hiking in Trinity County last month with her 2 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois named Eva. The pair encountered a mountain lion during their hike.

The mountain lion lunged at Wilson and scratched her left shoulder.

While in pain from the mountain lion attack, Wilson called for her dog – who was a few feet ahead, off-leash.

"I yelled 'Eva!' and she came running," Wilson told the Sacramento Bee on Wednesday. "And she hit that cat really hard."

However, the 55-pound dog was overpowered by the big cat.

"They fought for a couple seconds, and then I heard her start crying," Wilson explained. "That’s when the cat latched on to her skull."

Wilson did everything she could to attempt to stop the cougar from harming her dog – hitting the mountain lion with rocks, sticks, and her fist. She then tried to choke the cougar with her arms and tried to gouge its eyes. The big cat fought back and used its rear paws to kick Wilson away.

The mountain lion refused to let go of the dog, so Wilson ran to her truck to retrieve a tire iron. Wilson also flagged down a passing female motorist – who grabbed a 4-foot-long PVC pipe and pepper spray to help save Eva. The two women beat the cougar and used pepper spray until it finally released the dog and retreated.

Wilson said of Eva, "At first I was like, ‘Wow, she’s OK.' But when I looked at her closer, I realized she had a couple of puncture wounds in her face. And she just had a lot of blood coming out of her mouth."

The owner raced her dog to an emergency veterinarian clinic that was an hour-and-a-half drive away.

Wilson’s husband – Connor Kenny – told SFGate that Eva suffered two fractures to her skull, a punctured sinus cavity, severe damage to her left eye, and seizures.

Facing mounting vet bills, Wilson launched a GoFundMe campaign.

"My dog is my hero," Wilson wrote on the crowdfunding listing. "And I owe her my life."

Wilson posted an update on Tuesday, "Eva went for CT before MRI, and it has been found that her skull fracture was pretty severe and her brain tissue is inflamed. Her brain is now pushing through the openings in the skull."

On Thursday, Wilson announced that Eva had died.

"We said goodbye at 9:20 this morning," Wilson wrote on Instagram. "There were no changes to her condition overnight. Goodbye my beautiful sweet girl. You are my world, my light, my best friend. The world is a much darker place."

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said it was working on trapping the mountain lion involved in the attack.

The wildlife agency advised, "People should always be vigilant when recreating in mountain lion habitat."

Dog That Saved Owner From Mountain Lion Passes Away Unexpectedly www.youtube.com

Accused Capitol rioter on house arrest for allegedly violating gun order in mountain lion hunt



A hunting guide accused of assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol has been placed on house arrest by a judge, over allegations that he violated the terms of his release by allegedly shooting a mountain lion while under court orders.

Patrick Montgomery, 48, is not supposed to have a gun at all because of a prior felony charge, prosecutors say.

What are the details?

Montgomery runs a guide service called Pmonte Outdoors out of Littleton, Colorado. In January, he was indicted on 10 counts after allegedly entering the Capitol building and "kicking a police officer in the chest and trying to take his baton during riots," The Denver Gazette reported, citing court documents.

"Montgomery has no respect for the Court's orders, just like he had no respect for law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6," acting United States Attorney Channing Phillips wrote in court documents.

"Instead of peacefully protesting, he tried to grab a Metropolitan Police Department officer's baton, wrestled him to the ground for it, and then kicked the officer in the chest while wearing a boot," Phillips claims. "After the officer regained control of his baton, Montgomery stood up, and held up his two middle fingers at the officer. "

CBS News reported that since Montgomery's arrest, he has been free on pre-trial release, but prosecutors pressed Monday for him to be placed under house arrest over allegations that he violated the stipulation that he not "possess illegal firearms." The judge agreed.

The house arrest was sparked by a mountain lion hunt of which the U.S. Attorney's Office supplied a picture purportedly showing Montgomery on March 31 holding up a mountain lion kill.

Anything else?

Montgomery allegedly told an officer at a park that he had killed the animal with a .357 magnum handgun. After running a background check, the officer found that Montgomery was convicted of three counts of felony robbery from 1996.

But this was not the first time Montgomery violated his release, according to prosecutors who say he also "illegally hunted a bobcat in January, allegedly using a slingshot to knock it out of a tree and then allowed his dogs to kill it in violation of state law," ABC News reported.

When confronted about the past convictions, Montgomery "said he was granted a plea agreement that allowed him possession of firearms for the purposes of hunting and guiding," CBS reported.

Alleged U.S. Capitol Rioter Patrick Montgomery Faces Arrest After Hunting Mountain Lion www.youtube.com

Mountain lion resists arrest, leading police on chase through neighborhood backyards



"Anybody missing their cat?"

A mountain lion, also known as a cougar, led police on a merry foot chase through Southern California backyards Saturday morning, the Sacramento Bee reported.

After locals spotted the big cat in Santa Ana and Tustin and reported it to authorities, an Orange County sheriff's helicopter tracked it down. The mountain lion resisted arrest and police began a "lengthy foot pursuit" through the neighborhood.

Sheriff's deputies described the chase in an Instagram post.

"This morning Duke 1 responded to the unincorporated area of Santa Ana in response to reports of a mountain lion sighting," the deputies wrote.

"The Duke crew quickly located the large cat in a backyard and directed @ocsdnorthpatrol Deputies, @tustinpolice officers and Fish and Game wardens to its location. A lengthy foot pursuit ensued through the neighborhood until the mountain lion was safely tranquilized and taken into custody to be relocated back into the wild.

"This definitely falls into the category of 'we don't see this everyday," the deputies said.

Area residents reported seeing the mountain lion earlier that day.

"My neighbor texted me at eight o'clock this morning and said, watch your doggies because we just had a mountain lion in our backyard," Jocelyn Kelly told KTLA-TV.

Police and animal control took care of the cat professionally and no one reported any injuries related to its capture.

"It wasn't really all that scary," Kelly said. "They handled it so beautifully, that they didn't make you afraid, and I am an animal lover so all I wanted to make sure is that they didn't kill it."

Mountain lion sightings in the area are not uncommon as more than half of California serves as a habitat for the big cats.

"Mountain lions are quiet, solitary and elusive, and typically avoid people by nature," the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says on its website. "However, as human population expands into mountain lion habitat, more frequent sightings may occur and human/mountain lion encounters may increase."

Here are some tips to follow if you encounter a mountain lion, courtesy of KTLA:

  • Never approach a mountain lion. Give them an escape route.
  • Do not run. Running may trigger chase, catch and kill response.
  • Do not turn your back on a mountain lion. Face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms, or opening your jacket if wearing one; throw rocks or other objects.
  • Pick up small children.
  • Do not crouch down or bend over.
  • Speak calmly and don't use high pitched tones or high pitch screams.
  • If a lion attacks, fight back.
In other words, don't be like this guy:

ORIGINAL - Cougar Attack in Utah | Mountain Lion Stalks Me For 6 Minutes! www.youtube.com