Homeless man critical following cougar attack

A 50-year old-old homeless man from Perris, California – 70 miles east of Los Angeles – is in critical condition following a cougar attack. It is the 15th cougar attack on a person in California since 1986.

 

Read more:

Wildlife rangers in Southern California were hunting on Monday for a mountain lion that mauled a homeless man at his roadside encampment over the weekend in a rare attack that left the victim in critical condition, fish and game authorities said.

Rangers set up baited box traps over the weekend, scoured the area for cougar tracks and scanned the vicinity with infrared cameras at night from a helicopter, but have so far found no signs of a mountain lion, said Lieutenant Patrick Foy of the wildlife agency.

None of the numerous lion sightings reported by nearby residents after the incident had panned out, but there was little doubt that the man was attacked by a cougar, Foy said, and authorities were continuing their search for the wild cat.

The injuries found on the victim – lacerations, puncture wounds and bite marks at the base of his skull – “are very consistent” with a cougar mauling, Foy said, adding, “We are comfortable confirming it as a lion attack.

A blanket that the victim apparently had wrapped himself in after the attack was soaked in blood, according to Foy.

If the animal is found, it will be killed in the interest of public safety, he said.

Investigators have collected DNA samples from the victim to match with the lion if it were captured, and the wildlife department will make “all reasonable efforts to ensure the actual offending animal is destroyed,” the agency said.

“The first priority of any law enforcement agency is the safety of the public, and we are doing everything we can do (to) find and capture this animal before it can harm anyone else,” assistant department chief Dan Sforza said in a statement.

Residents were warned to be careful with pets and children.

The circumstances of the mauling, including what time of day it occurred, whether the man was asleep when attacked, or whether he fought off the cougar, remained unknown because investigators have not been able to speak with him.

The lieutenant said rangers were awaiting doctors’ approval to interview the man, listed in critical condition following surgery on Saturday night and described by Foy as being “in pretty bad shape.”

The man managed to stagger from his campsite to a nearby home to make an emergency 911 call early on Saturday, but Foy said he believes the victim may have refrained from seeking help for several hours before that.

The homeless man, whose name was not publicly released, is known to law enforcement as having a “history of being mentally unstable,” and has had “multiple violent confrontations with police” in the past, Foy said. He may have therefore been reluctant to call for help.

Mountain lion attacks on people are rare. A 63-year-old man survived an attack in July 2012 in Nevada County. The last fatal attack in California occurred in 2004, when a cyclist was mauled in the foothills of Orange County.

 

Outdoorsguy

Bear saves man from cougar attack

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Statistically speaking, a bear attack is about as likely as being struck by lighting.

And being attacked by a cougar is also not a common occurrence, even for those who travel the western backwoods on a regular basis.

So, what about being attacked by a cougar and then saved by a bear. The likelihood of that would be astronomical, right??

Any statisticians in the house??

Well, believe it or not that is precisely what one man claims happened to him this past weekend in Butte County, California.

Bob Biggs was hiking through a gorge of the Feather River in Northern California, when he spotted a mother bear and cub ahead of him on the trail. His instincts kicked-in (being a seasoned outdoorsman) as he slowly backed away giving the bear ample room.

Biggs said he actually saw the bear two more times during his walk before this story took a very strange turn.

While being mindful of a bruin in the area, without warning, Biggs was hit hard from behind by another large animal.

Oh my God, it was a cougar!!

The cougar (estimated at 100 pounds) pounced on Bob’s back and started shaking him from side to side. He suffered puncture wounds on his forearm. Biggs had a climbers axe with him he used to swat at the cougar, but to no avail.

Within seconds; however, the bear he had seen earlier was on the scene and grabbed the cougar from Bob’s back. According to Biggs, the bear fought with the cougar long enough for him to escape the mêlée.

Biggs returned home to tell his wife what had happened. She could hardly believe it since her husband had been hiking that region for 60 years without any troubles.

Officials at California‘s wildlife department are not convinced either, stating that the ‘facts in this incident have yet to be proven’.

What do you think?

Did Bob Biggs get attacked by a cougar and then miraculously saved by a nearby mother bear travelling with her cub?

Outdoorsguy

P.S. I my next Blog Post, I’ll recount the time I was held at knife point during a home invasion, when a kindly convicted felon broke-in to save me.

Cougar attack on toddler sets off debate

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The Vancouver SUN, earlier this week, reported on a serious cougar attack to an 18-month old toddler in Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim National Park.

Here is the article by Cindy E. Harnett:

An 18-month-old boy, who was pulled by family members from the claws of a cougar in Vancouver Island‘s Pacific Rim National Park Monday night, is in serious condition after being flown to B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

“He is being monitored closely,” said hospital spokeswoman Tracy Tang.

Julien Sylvester was walking just three metres in front of his grandfather and another adult when the cougar lunged from a forested area at the edge of the beach, Parks Canada confirmed.

The cougar was momentarily daunted by Julien’s grandfather, then lunged at the boy’s four-year-old sister. The cougar did not make contact with the girl, who was unharmed, Parks Canada spokeswoman Arlene Armstrong said.

“The cougar surprised them really quickly from the forested edge,” Armstrong said. “It was a very quick encounter.”

The grandfather immediately “got the child to medical attention,” Armstrong said.

Julien was taken to nearby Tofino hospital and then airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital, where his mother Sarah Hagar remained by his bedside on Tuesday.

“The family is focusing all of their energy on their son’s recovery and are asking the media to please respect their privacy today and in the days ahead, so they can concentrate on their son’s health,” said Tang, in a statement.

The attack occurred at 6 p.m. Monday night at Swim Beach in the Kennedy Lake day-use area of the national park, about 16 kilometres east of the community of Ucluelet, B.C.

Four officers from the Conservation Officer Service, tracking dogs, Ucluelet RCMP, and West Coast Search and Rescue launched a full-scale search Monday night to track and trap the cougar. About 20 Parks Canada staff are also involved in tracking, co-ordinating the search and communications. The search continued Tuesday.

If found, the cat will be killed because it poses a public safety risk, according to Parks Canada.

“The family members did everything right,” said Armstrong. “There’s no indication the family is at fault.”

Family members who witnessed the brief attack acted properly by maintaining eye contact with the big cat and aggressively scaring if off, Armstrong said.

Although the latest word is the young boy is expected to make a full recovery, Doctor’s say the child did suffer brain damage from the cougar’s jaw and teeth which had pierced his skull.

Now (as expected) the Animal Rights ‘do-gooders’ are out in full force running to the animal’s defence, following Parks Canada’s decision to hunt the cougar; labelling it as a ‘serious threat’.

There are comments out there like; “The fact this cat did attack a child shows there is something wrong with it” and “A healthy, well-fed cougar would not attack a child in the company of two adults” and “It’s not the cougar’s fault for hunting for food”

You already know my thoughts, so what do you think?

Should any predator (be it a cougar, bear, wolf, coyote) which has attacked a human, be hunted and destroyed, or should it be left alone because it was only acting on its natural instincts?

Please feel free to way-in and share your opinion.

Outdoorsguy