Woman killed in suspected mountain lion attack in Colorado

A pistillate who was hiking connected a way successful Colorado's Larimer County was recovered dormant connected Thursday aft what appears to person been a upland lion attack. If further probe by authorities officials determines the carnal oregon animals are responsible, it would beryllium the archetypal fatal upland lion onslaught connected a quality successful Colorado successful astir 30 years.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Kara Van Hoose said respective radical who were hiking connected the Crosier Mountain Trail southbound of Glen Haven astatine 12:15 p.m. erstwhile they saw a idiosyncratic lying connected the crushed and a upland lion nearby. They said they were astir 100 yards away.

"As they started to get closer, they started to scare the lion from the country by throwing rocks astatine the carnal and it yet went away, but they recovered an big pistillate lying connected the trail," Van Hoose said astatine a a quality conference. "One of the hikers is simply a doc and did not find a pulse."

The individuality of the pistillate has not yet been revealed.   

First responders including CPW wildlife officers and canine teams responded to the country and searched for upland lions successful the area. Two were recovered and some coiled up being euthanized but it's unclear if some upland lions were progressive successful the suspected attack.

"There were signs that this was accordant with a upland lion onslaught but we can't accidental for sure," Van Hoose said.

It's CPW argumentation to termination immoderate chaotic carnal progressive successful a quality attack. Mountain lions are communal successful the area.

It's not the archetypal caller occurrence involving a upland lion connected the Crosier Mountain Trail. Glen Haven nonmigratory and way runner Gary Messina told CBS Colorado helium had a frightening brushwood with a upland lion connected the way a small implicit a period ago.

"It decidedly frightened maine to my halfway erstwhile it happened," said Messina.

He says helium has a batch of respect and knowing of lions.

"I don't spot them arsenic a threat. They're peaceful animals, we're successful their territory, helium said."

Messina was moving connected the way astatine daybreak, utilizing a headlamp erstwhile helium spotted eyes connected the way ahead. At archetypal helium thought it was a skunk oregon different animal, but arsenic helium drew close, it was not moving. He went disconnected way to spell astir it.

"And that was erstwhile I noticed the eyes were pursuing maine and earlier I adjacent knew what it was, it ran astatine me," helium recalled. "For astir 2 minutes I was frightened for my beingness due to the fact that the feline was benignant of circling maine and trying to pounce connected me."

He bent down to effort to prime up thing to frighten the cougar off, but that excessively seemed to incite it.

"In the effort to crook implicit and drawback thing it tried to pounce a mates times and truthful my absorption would beryllium to conscionable similar get large and outcry astatine it more," helium said. "I could archer it wasn't adjacent going to fto maine backmost away."

He reached down him and recovered a subdivision coming retired of the crushed and grabbed it. "I conscionable took a instrumentality and swung and deed it crossed the face, which made the feline benignant of snarl and benignant of tally disconnected a small bit. … I conscionable was acrophobic to tally due to the fact that I knew that it was triggered by my movements truthful I conscionable backed distant dilatory and I was capable to commencement throwing worldly towards it and effort to support it distant from me," helium said.

That included his telephone connected which helium had snapped a photograph of the lion. He went backmost aboriginal successful the time to retrieve it.

"It was decidedly a large cat. I've seen teen cats earlier and this happening surely seemed a large steadfast size."

Messina says helium dispersed connection successful municipality of the onslaught and called wildlife authorities to fto them cognize astir it.

Word of the decease of a pistillate Thursday was upsetting.

"Just the thought of anybody getting attacked and what that indispensable beryllium like, my bosom breaks for the household and for the hiker who had to beryllium the unfortunate victim," said Messina.

"CPW pathologists volition behaviour necropsies connected the animals looking for immoderate abnormalities oregon immoderate neurological illness similar rabies and avian influenza," said Van Hoose.

Van Hoose said the upland lions volition besides beryllium tested for quality DNA to corroborate the ones euthanized were the upland lions that attacked.

Van Hoose said determination are lone 28 reported attacks of upland lions connected humans since 1990 and determination hasn't been a fatal onslaught since the precocious 90s.

That onslaught was besides successful Larimer County. The decease of 3-year-old Jaryd Atadero was listed by the coroner arsenic a "probable upland lion attack." Atadero wandered disconnected from a religion radical hike successful Poudre Canyon. No remains were ever found, lone immoderate of his covering and shoes, years aft helium disappeared.