A mountain lion that snuck up on a Colorado couple taking an evening soak in an outdoor hot tub took a swat at a man’s head, leaving claw injuries to his scalp, wildlife officials says.
Wardens from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department (CWP) were called to the scene, but weren’t able to find the mountain lion, CWP spokesman Joey Livingston told Cowboy State Daily.
Attack In The Dark
The couple told wardens that they were sitting in the hot tub at about 8 p.m. Saturday when the man was attacked, according to CWP. They were outside their rental home in a heavily wooded subdivision roughly 5 miles west of the town of Nathrop in Chafee County.
Wardens arrived at the scene at about 10 p.m., and the man told them he had felt something grab at his head. His wife shined a light, revealing a mountain lion.
The couple started yelling and screaming at the big cat, which they said retreated about 20 feet into the woods and watched them for a time before slipping out of sight, according to CWP.
The man had four superficial scratches along the top of his head, which wardens reported were consistent with mountain lion claws. He had cleaned and treated the wounds before wardens arrived and refused further medial treatment.
Wardens searched the nearby woods with hound dogs, but couldn’t find the mountain lion.
Other Attacks
It as the 24th mountain lion attack on a human in Colorado since 1990, according to CWP. Three of those attacks were fatal. Mountain lions late last year also killed 15 dogs in 30 days in and around the small community of Nederland in rural Boulder County, Colorado.
Big Cat Trouble In Cheyenne
Wyoming also has had recent mountain lion shenanigans.
Vince and Jenny Belmont found a mountain lion snoozing in a basement window well of their home on the outskirts of Cheyenne last October.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department wardens shot the feline with a tranquilizer dart, put it in a crate and took to the mountains, where it was released.
