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The
mountain bikers were riding together down a remote, backwoods
trail at 11 a.m. (2 p.m. ET) in an area near North Bend,
Washington state, around 30 miles (48 km) east of Seattle, when
the two men encountered the animal.
In the ensuing attack, the first rider received deep scratches
and the other was dragged away by the cougar to its den, King
County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sergeant Ryan Abbot said.
The 31-year-old survivor rode two miles out of the area and
called 911.
Police drove up the trail, found the victim's bike and went into
the woods where they came across the cougar standing over the
victim's body, Abbott said.
"He or she, I don't know if the cougar was a male or female, had
the body of the victim down in his den," said Ryan.
A deputy took a shot at the animal, sending it fleeing into the
woods. Officers of the Washington Department of Fish and Game
tracked the cat with dogs and killed it, Abbott said.
The survivor was taken to hospital in Seattle with serious but
none-life-threatening injuries, he said.
Fatal cougar attacks are extremely rare in North America, with
only about two dozen recorded in the last 100 years, most of
them involving children.
It was only the second deadly attack by a mountain lion in
Washington State in the last 100 years, Abbott said.
Cougars are the fourth largest cat species worldwide, with adult
females weighing up to 141 pounds (64 kgs) and males weighing as
much as 220 pounds (100 kgs). They attack prey by ambush and
usually attack humans only if cornered.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Chris
Reese)
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