Colorado Parks and Wildlife is searching for a mountain lion Saturday night after the animal clawed a Colorado man who was sitting in a hot tub with his wife.
The victim said he and his wife were in the hot tub when he felt something grab his head. Realizing it was a mountain lion, the couple used a flashlight and made noise, causing the animal to retreat and back inside their rental property, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a press release. . The man had four “superficial scratches” on the top of his head and near his right ear.
Officials praised the couple’s strategy to contain the animal. “” The couple did the right thing by making noise and shining a light on the lion. Although the victim had minor injuries, we are taking this incident seriously,” said area wildlife manager Sean Shepherd. “We have alerted neighbors and posted lion activity warnings.”
The couple alerted the property owner, who is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee, to the incident. The owner proceeded to alert CPW officers, who arrived at the scene but had no luck tracking the animal.
Officials plan to track the mountain lion’s activity and set a trap near the encounter “in hopes of catching the lion.”
The incident was the first reported attack by a mountain lion on a human in the state late last month and the 24th since 1990. However, although mountain lion attacks are relatively rare, authorities share ways to reduce and manage potential encounters with the animals here.
Trending news
Tre’Von Howard
Thanks for reading CBS News.
Create your free account or login
For more features.