Nature red in tooth and claw.
The Paradise Post reports:
A Paradise man says he is lucky to be alive after an attack by a mountain lion Monday morning.
Robert Biggs, 69, often hikes in the Bean Soup Flat area, which is about a mile and a half above Whisky Flats. He came across a mother bear, a yearling and a newborn, which were about 40 feet from where he was standing.
After watching the bear family for a few minutes he decided to leave them be and turned to walk back up the trail. As he turned, a mountain lion pounced on him grabbing hold of his backpack with all four paws.
“They usually grab hold of your head with all four paws, but my backpack was up above my head and (the mountain lion) grabbed it instead,” Biggs said. “It must have been stalking the little bear, but it was on me in seconds.”
He wrestled with the cat, striking it in the head with a rock pick. The cat screamed when it was hit with the pick, but didn’t let go, Biggs said. Before he knew it, the mother bear came from behind and pounced on the cat, tearing its grip from the backpack.
The bear and the cat battled for about 15 seconds, Biggs said, until the cat finally ran away. The bear went on its way as well. Biggs ended up with bite marks, scratches and bruises to his arm, but was otherwise uninjured…
He was lucky–not sure I believe him. So sorry, if I’m wrong abt that.
To do list: Buy backpack with that extends above head.
Nah. Just carry a 2.5 inch Ruger Alaskan.
They’re trying to extend the range of habitat for such animals. They need to start posting signs ‘humans keep out’ around these areas.
yep, our technology allows us to let someone else kill the animals we all eat … the guy at the slaughterhouse still gets to behave like a savage though … though not with his teeth or nails (claws) …
He was extremely lucky. The natural world is savage; it’s only our technology which allows us to rise above the need for such behavior. Although it’s still in our genes, we have the option to choose to not act on those baser instincts.