A mountain lion attacked a male as he comfortable in a sizzling tub at a rental property in Chaffee County, Colorado, on March 18, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officers.
In a launch, parks officials claimed the guy and his spouse had been sitting down in an in-ground hot tub when “he felt something grab his head.”
“He and his spouse began screaming and splashing water at the animal,” the release said. “The victim’s spouse grabbed a flashlight and shined it on the animal, which they then discovered as a mountain lion.”
CPW mentioned the “light and commotion” startled the animal, which retreated back as the two continued yelling at it. It inevitably “moved up to the best of a hill in the vicinity of some rocks wherever it crouched down and ongoing to check out the couple.”
The two informed officers they bought out of the tub and went back into the household, where by they cleaned up the man’s scratches and referred to as the home owner, who then contacted CPW.
In accordance to the release, the target experienced “four superficial scratches on top of his head and around his ideal ear.”
Officers identified his accidents were being “consistent with the claw of a mountain lion,” the release reported.
When officers arrived at the scene, they instantly searched for the mountain lion but there have been no tracks owing to the freezing temperatures and frozen snow on the floor. They said in the launch they did not assume tracking hounds would be effective either but set a trap nearby in hopes of catching the wild animal.
“We believe it’s likely the mountain lion observed the man’s head move in the darkness at floor-level but didn’t identify the folks in the sizzling tub,” Sean Shepherd, the area wildlife manager based mostly in Salida, said in the launch. “The pair did the suitable thing by creating sounds and shining a light on the lion. Although this target experienced only slight accidents, we just take this incident critically. We have alerted neighbors and posted symptoms warning of lion activity. And we will carry on to keep track of the lion and lion action.”
Wildlife officers are inquiring inhabitants to hold an eye out for mountain lion sightings. They can get in touch with CPW’s Salida business at 719-530-5520 for the duration of the day or Colorado State Patrol at 719-544-2424 just after small business several hours.
The March 18 incident is the initial mountain lion assault of a human in Colorado this yr. The last recorded incident was Feb. 27, 2022, when a man in Montezuma County was attacked on his possess entrance porch. He survived but experienced a number of puncture wounds to his decreased suitable leg, officers said at the time.
“This is the 24th recognized assault of a mountain lion leading to injuries to a human in Colorado because 1990,” according to the March 20 release from CPW. “Three other assaults in Colorado because 1990 have resulted in human fatalities.”
Wildlife officers advise pursuing the “Good” acrostic if you at any time come across a mountain lion:
- S: Quit. Do not operate!
- M: Make on your own appear big.
- A: Announce your presence in an authoritative voice
- R: Retreat by backing absent gradually.
- T: Tell an grownup (for young ones) or wildlife officials about the come across
For residents in superior-risk areas for mountain lion encounters, CPW also urges individuals to adhere to these straightforward precautions:
- Make loads of sound as you arrive and go throughout the instances mountain lions are most lively: dusk to dawn.
- Put in exterior lights
- Closely supervise kids and animals whenever they engage in outdoors
- Clear away vegetation to reduce hiding areas and steer clear of planting non-native shrubs that deer like to take in
- Do not depart pets or livestock outside right away — carry them inside of or into enclosed barns at night and shut the doors
