Mountain lion kills man, injures another in Northern California

A person was killed and his brother injured Saturday when a mountain lion attacked them as they combed a forested space for deer antlers, based on authorities.

The assault in El Dorado County is believed to be the primary deadly incident involving a mountain lion in California in 20 years.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Workplace obtained a 911 name at 1:13 p.m. from an 18-year-old who reported that he and his 21-year-old brother had been attacked by a mountain lion in a distant space of Georgetown, a city in Northern California’s Gold Nation. The youthful brother suffered “traumatic accidents” to his face and was separated from his brother throughout the assault, a Sheriff’s Workplace information launch stated.

El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies and paramedics arrived within the space about 10 minutes later and gave the 18-year-old medical support. They quickly discovered a mountain lion crouched subsequent to the opposite sufferer, who had been killed, and shot towards the animal, scaring it off.

Two recreation wardens with the state Division of Fish and Wildlife and an El Dorado County trapper shot and killed the mountain lion, which was nonetheless inside “shut proximity” of the scene of the assault, Sgt. Kyle Parker of the El Dorado Sheriff’s Workplace stated. The physique of the animal was taken in for examination to “determine why the assault occurred,” Parker stated.

The youthful brother was anticipated to outlive, officers stated.

Beth Pratt, who heads the nonprofit Nationwide Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars marketing campaign, posted on social media that this was the primary deadly assault in California since 2004.

“Mountain lion assaults are extraordinarily uncommon,” Pratt wrote. “Mountain lions have killed 4 individuals since 1986, in a state with a inhabitants of 40 million. These statistics don’t diminish the tragedy when an individual is killed or injured by a lion, nevertheless it places the chance in perspective. Vehicles, against this, trigger on common … 3,000-4,000 deaths annually in California.

“Most People’ encounters with mountain lions happen with out us even being conscious of it,” the submit added.

In El Dorado County, a jogger was killed by a mountain lion in 1994. The sufferer’s physique was discovered close to the Sierra foothills path the place she had been working, with indicators of repeated assaults earlier than being dragged 100 ft downhill to a spot close to a tree. Her physique had been lined with leaves and different particles, as mountain lions do to cover their prey. Every week later trackers positioned the animal and killed it.

Parker stated mountain lions, though frequent in rural El Dorado County, aren’t usually seen throughout the day, as they’re often most energetic at night time. “They’re sort of a unicorn in a method,” he stated. “They’re fairly elusive.”

However he stated their cry is distinctive — like a “girl screaming.”

Wildlife authorities stated encounters between people and mountain lions are anticipated to extend due to shared terrain.

To protect towards assault, they warning individuals to not hike alone and to maintain kids shut, based on recommendation posted by El Dorado County. If a lion is seen, don’t method it or run away, however attempt to seem bigger by elevating your arms or opening your jacket. Attempt to chase it away by throwing rocks or sticks. And if attacked, stand and face the animal to keep away from being bitten on the top or neck and combat again with rocks, sticks, caps, jackets, backyard instruments or naked fingers.