Deadly suspected mountain lion assault occurred weeks after one other encounter

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Weeks earlier than a hiker was killed in a suspected mountain lion assault in Colorado, a person was almost attacked by one other massive cat on the identical path.

Gary Messina stated he was rushed by a mountain lion whereas operating alongside the identical northern Colorado path on a darkish morning in November.

Messina stated he threw his telephone on the animal whereas it stored circling behind him and was in a position to get away after a few minutes when he broke a stick off of a log and hit the mountain lion over the pinnacle with it.

"I needed to combat it off as a result of it was mainly making an attempt to maul me," Messina informed The Related Press. "I used to be scared for my life, and I wasn’t in a position to escape. I attempted backing up, and it will attempt to lunge at me."

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A mountain lion on the Wildlife Rescue Heart in Alajuela, Costa Rica, Sept. 16, 2024. (Ezequiel Becerra/AFP through Getty Pictures)

A girl who was discovered useless on the identical path on New Yr’s Day had "wounds consistent with a mountain lion attack ," a Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman stated.

"Round 12:15 this afternoon, hikers on the Crosier Mountain path in Larimer County noticed a mountain lion close to an individual mendacity on the bottom from about 100 yards away," Kara Van Hoose stated throughout a information convention Thursday.

After the suspected assault, wildlife officers killed two mountain lions and are trying to find a 3rd to find out if the animal had rabies or one other illness.

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The assault was the primary suspected deadly mountain lion mauling in additional than 25 years, with the final one occurring in 1999.

This picture offered by Gary Messina reveals a mountain lion within the brush between two timber alongside the Crosier Mountain path within the Arapaho and Roosevelt Nationwide Forests close to Glen Haven, Colo., Nov 11, 2025. (Gary Messina through AP)

Messina stated he reported his incident days later, and officers posted warning indicators about mountain lions that had been later taken down.

He stated he believes the animal that attacked him might have been the identical one which killed the New Yr’s hiker.

Mountain lion sightings in that space of Rocky Mountains National Park are frequent, however the animals are hardly ever aggressive.

The New Yr’s Day assault can be the fourth deadly one in North America within the final decade and the thirtieth since 1868, in accordance with the Mountain Lion Basis.

"As extra folks dwell, work and recreate in areas that overlap wildlife habitat, interactions can improve, not as a result of mountain lions have gotten extra aggressive, however as a result of overlap is rising," the group’s chief conservation officer, Byron Weckworth, stated.

Authorities suspect a lone girl hiker in Colorado was killed in a uncommon mountain lion assault on New Yr's Day. (AP Digital Embed)

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To keep away from threat of an assault, specialists inform nature seekers to keep away from daybreak and nightfall, when mountain lions are most lively and to journey in teams.

Throughout an encounter, specialists recommend sustaining eye contact with the animal, making an attempt to seem as giant as attainable, slowly backing away with out turning your again on the animal and never operating.