- The confirmed attack, on Jan. 1, is the first fatal mountain lion attack in Colorado since the 1990s.
- Wildlife officers euthanized two mountain lions in connection with the attack.
- Mountain lion attacks on humans, especially fatal attacks, are extremely rare.
A woman was killed in a mountain lion attack while hiking alone in northern Colorado on New Year’s Day. The death is the first fatal attack by one of these animals in the state since the 1990s.
After the hiker’s body was found, wildlife officers located two mountain lions in the area and euthanized them, according to a statement from Kara Van Hoose with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The woman was found in the mountains south of the small community of Glen Haven, an area considered the gateway to the eastern entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park, according to wire reports.
On Monday, the Larimer County Coroner’s Office identified the woman as 46-year-old Kristen Marie Kovatch from Fort Collins.
The coroner’s office performed an autopsy on Monday which discovered that Kovatch’s injuries were consistent with a mountain lion attack. The cause and manner of death were determined to be asphyxia due to external neck compression.
What we know about the mountain lion attack
Just before noon on Jan. 1, two hikers saw a mountain lion near the Kovatch’s body along the Crosier Mountain trail, which is in a national forest. The hikers threw rocks to scare away the animal so they could try to help the woman.
One of the hikers who attended to the victim was a physician, but reportedly didn’t find a pulse, per The Associated Press.
“This is a very common time of year to take mountain lion sightings and reports and especially in Larimer County, where this is very good mountain lion habitat,” Van Hoose said, per the AP. “Trails in this area are in pretty remote land, so it’s wooded, it’s rocky, there’s elevation gains and dips.”
Mountain lions are also known as cougars, catamounts and pumas. The animals can weigh 130 pounds and grow to over 6 feet long. The predators primarily eat deer.
The estimated population is 3,800 to 4,400 of the animals in Colorado, according to the AP. Mountain lions are classified as a big game species in the state and can be hunted.
Colorado’s policy is to euthanize any wildlife that is suspected to be involved in attacks on people, per The New York Times. After the two mountain lions were found and euthanized on Thursday, officers were trying to track down a third mountain lion on Friday.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife pathologists will be conducting necropsies on both of the euthanized lions, according to wire reports. That includes examining their stomach contents and testing for diseases like rabies or bird flu.
Attacks from mountain lions are incredibly rare
Mountain lions are spread across the American West and are elusive, solitary and known to prey on pets and livestock, officials say. But attacks by the animals on humans, especially fatal attacks, are rare.
“Along the Front Range and Larimer County, hikers and people enjoying the outdoors should expect to encounter wildlife. Mountain lions are more visible in winter as they follow deer and elk to lower elevations,” Van Hoose wrote, in the Colorado Parks and Wildlife release.
Van Hoose told The New York Times that Colorado Parks and Wildlife has not seen any data showing an increase in mountain lion attacks or encounters in recent years.
The last fatal attack in Colorado was in 1999, when a 3-year-old was killed. In 1997, a 10-year-old boy was killed by a cougar and dragged away while hiking with his family in Rocky Mountain National Park.
There have been 28 mountain lion attacks in the state since 1999, including the fatal ones.
In Northern California last year, two brothers were stalked and attacked by a mountain lion, per the AP. They tried to fight off the animal but one of the brothers was killed; it was the first fatal attack in the state in over two decades.
Previous attack reported in November
In November, Gary Messina said he was running along the same trail where the woman was found. It was a dark morning and his headlamp caught the gleam of two eyes in the brush nearby. He took a picture on his phone before he was rushed by a mountain lion.
Messina said he threw his phone at the animal, yelled and kicked dirt as the lion tried to circle behind him. After a few minutes, he broke a large stick off a fallen log and hit the mountain lion in the head with it. The animal then ran off, according to the AP.
Messina, who is from nearby Glen Haven, reported his confrontation with a mountain lion to wildlife officials, who posted signs to warn people about the animal along trails in the area, per the report.
Safety tips for mountain lion encounters
In the department’s release about the attack, Colorado Parks and Wildlife gave advice on what people should do if they spot a mountain lion.
“If lions are spotted, make noise to scare them from the area, hold objects overhead to appear bigger and start backing away from the animal. Pets should be kept on-leash and not interact with wildlife,” Van Hoose wrote.
Early last year, Darren DeBloois, Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources game mammals coordinator, told the Deseret News that if a mountain lion is trying to prey on something, it will sneak up and ambush them.
“When a cougar lunges or bluffs a charge at someone, they are typically just trying to drive them out of the area because they have kittens or a kill nearby that they are trying to protect,” DeBloois added.
The Division of Wildlife Resources also listed several steps to take to avoid a mountain lion confrontation, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
- Do not hike or jog alone.
- Maintain awareness in cougar country while hiking or jogging, and avoid using headphones that block out your surroundings.
- Travel in groups and keep everyone together, including children and dogs.
- Make noise while hiking to alert mountain lions to your presence.
- Leave the area if you find a dead animal, especially deer or elk, since it could be a cougar kill.
- If you live in an area near deer habitat, do not leave children outside unattended, especially at dawn and dusk.
- As a deterrent, install outside and motion-sensitive lighting around your property.
- Trim vegetation and remove wood piles to reduce hiding places for wildlife.
- Bring pets and livestock inside at night or secure them in a barn or kennel with a top.