This 2019, picture offered by the National Park Service, exhibits a mountain lion often called P-47 within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area west of Los Angeles. A cougar attacked 5 cyclists in Washington state over the weekend.

AP

disguise caption

toggle caption

AP

This 2019, picture offered by the National Park Service, exhibits a mountain lion often called P-47 within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area west of Los Angeles. A cougar attacked 5 cyclists in Washington state over the weekend.

AP

A gaggle of 5 cyclists have been using on a path in Fall City, Wash., once they have been attacked by no less than one cougar this previous weekend.

The incident occurred on Saturday round 12:30 P.M., in accordance with the King County Sheriff’s Office, in a wilderness space alongside Tokul Creek roughly 5 miles north of the town of Snoqualmie.

A 60-year-old feminine was hospitalized for non-life threatening accidents, however is in steady situation, in accordance with a statement from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

“We are thankful that the victim is stable after the incident this weekend,” mentioned Lieutenant Erik Olson. “The people on scene took immediate action to render aid, and one of our officers was able to arrive within minutes to continue medical aid and coordinate transport. We may have had a very different outcome without their heroic efforts.”

Officers euthanized and eliminated one younger male 75-pound cougar on arrival, however eyewitnesses point out there could have been a second cougar as effectively on the scene, mentioned the assertion. Officials have been unable to discover a second cougar that eye-witnesses mentioned they noticed on the scene.

Such assaults hardly ever find yourself deadly. In Washington state, there have solely been two deadly cougar assaults and roughly 20 different recorded encounters that resulted in human damage within the final 100 years, in accordance with the WDFW.

Cougars, a protected species and the most important members of the cat household in Washington, are “solitary and secretive animals rarely seen in the wild,” reads a description of the mountain lion on the WDFW web site. But sightings of them are on the rise in northeast Washington, in accordance with a 2021 report by Northwest Public Broadcasting.

There are an estimated 3,600 cougars in Washington state as of 2022, says the WDFW.

If you do encounter a cougar within the wild, “you definitely want to show the animal that you are not prey. They are used to their prey running away,” mentioned bear and cougar specialist Richard A. Beausoleil in a 2018 interview with WBUR. “And so the very first thing is to stop, stand tall, make some noise, throw something at the animal if you can, but do not run.”

If a cougar does assault, the WDFW suggests combating again, because the cougar will flee if an individual is aggressive sufficient.

“Cougars have been driven away by people who have fought back using anything within reach, including sticks, rocks, shovels, backpacks, and clothing — even bare hands,” reads their website.