iStockphoto / Klaus Brauner
Five mountain bikers in Washington fell victim to a rare mountain lion attack over the weekend. Mountain lions rarely attack humans let alone mountain bikers who are traveling in groups and appear much larger due to the bikes so this is a very peculiar incident.
The incident occurred on a mountain biking trail near Tokul Creek which is a few miles from the town of Snoqualmie, Washington which is about an hour east of Seattle and the crew were out riding together when the young mountain lion pounced.
A 60-year-old woman was injured in the attack but the other mountain bikers in her group were able to overpower the mountain lion and hold it down until a nearby employee from Washington’s Fish & Wildlife was able to get there to assist.
The Fish & Wildlife employee, Sgt. Carlo Pace, determined the cat was roughly 6 months old and went on to tell KKTV how fortunate the 60-year-old was to be in a group.
He said “They did struggle with this animal. They did fight back, and if it wasn’t for those people, the lady attacked would be in much worse shape.”
The Washington Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (WDFW) keeps track of all attacks and it really highlights how rare this was.
In the past 100 years, there have only been 20 mountain lion attacks in Washington state where a human was injured. Furthermore, there have only been 2 fatal cougar attacks on humans in the past 100 years. The 60-year-old woman in this attack would presumably be the 21st instance of a human being injured in an attack.
Members from the group said they also spotted another mountain lion at the scene but that it fled after the initial attack.
As for why a young cougar would be so brazen as to attack a group of 5 mountain bikers, Sgt. Carlo Pace speculated that it was the wrong place at the wrong time. Pace said “where this happened was close to a creek which is their natural place to follow because that’s where prey is. These bicyclists just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They don’t look for people. They stay away from people 99% of the time.”
Tips to avoid cougar attacks are pretty straight-forward. They include tips like ‘make as much noise as possible’ and ‘don’t flee.’ If a cougar is spotted, it’s advised to move away but not swiftly. Don’t run. Be loud and make yourself bigger so the cat knows an attack won’t be easy. Make noise if you can by banging things together. And importantly, remain calm.