A woman has died after a suspected mountain lion attack in Colorado — first in the state since 1999.
The attack happened Thursday, officials said, per NBC News.
Hikers told officials they saw a mountain lion close to a person at about 12:15 p.m. on the Crosier Mountain trail in Larimer County, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a news release.
Those hikers were able to attend to the woman after they threw rocks at the lion. One of the hikers was a physician, who was not able “to find a pulse,” Kara Van Hoose, spokesperson with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said.
The Larimer County Coroner will release the victim’s name and cause of death when available.
The death is being investigated as a suspected mountain lion attack by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
“There were signs that this was consistent with a mountain lion attack but we can’t say for sure,” Van Hoose said, adding the think the woman was hiking alone.
Officials have euthanized two mountain lions and will now try to determine if either one killed the woman.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Larimer County Sheriff deputies, Estes Park police and Glen Haven Area Volunteer firefighters responded to the scene and and searched for mountain lions.
A Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologist who was conducting aerial deer surveys in the county and houndsmen with dogs to track the scent of mountain lions helped in the search.
One mountain lion was located near the scene and ran away when officers shot it. It was tracked by the officers and then euthanized, the release said.
A second mountain lion was also euthanized, the release said. Colorado Parks and Wildlife policy dictates wildlife involved in attacks on humans must be euthanized for public safety.
“It is unknown if one or multiple animals were involved in the suspected attack,” the Colorado Parks and Wildlife release said.
Pathologists will perform a necropsy on the mountain lions in search of any abnormalities and neurological diseases such as rabies and avian influenza.
They will also be tested for human DNA, Van Hoose said. If the investigation does not yield any results that either of these lions were the attackers, the search will continue.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado are considered rare. There have been 28 attacks reported to the agency since 1990. The last fatal attack was in 1999.
Van Hoose said the area was remote and wooded, with some secluded trails.
“This is an area where mountain lions are really common, along with a lot of other wildlife like bears and moose,” she said. “Because mountain lion are really common in this area, we do expect to have conflicts with regular things like sightings or encounters with dogs.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said if anyone sees a mountain lion, the should l make noise and scare them, hold objects overhead to appear bigger and back away from the animal.
