California mountain biker claims he was attacked by a mountain lion … It was a house cat

A classic case of exaggeration to appear tougher.

If you’re mountain biking alone and you’re attacked by a cat, you’ll tell them afterward that the “biggest mountain lion you’ve ever seen” left scratch marks on your body, regardless of what injuries you sustained. You might even exaggerate and say something like, “I’m really glad I’m alive.”

19-year-old James Way was riding his bike in Arroyo Grande, California when he was attacked, and the above paragraph is pretty much what his story was. He told wildlife officials that he was out riding when a wild mountain lion jumped out of a tree and scratched his legs. When you look at this situation in black and white, and trust the young boy’s words, it sounds terrifying.

Because it was a possible mountain lion attack, wildlife officials investigated the incident. They conducted DNA tests on Way’s clothing and helmet, confirming that the mountain biker had indeed danced with death, which was approaching him in the form of an aggressive big cat.

As it turns out, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported that it was a cat that attacked the 19-year-old… but not a large one:

“The lab results showed no evidence of a cougar, but instead DNA from a domestic cat. Mountain lion DNA was not detected in any of the samples.”

How embarrassing. The guy was attacked by a house cat and reported it to animal rights activists. I know it was probably a scary situation anyway, but you have to 100% sure that you were attacked by a mountain lion if you want to report it. Even if there is the slightest suspicion that it might have been a small house cat, swallow it and don’t say a word.

If it had actually been a mountain lion that attacked the mountain biker, it would have been a rare incident, as the Tribune explained:

“Since 1984, only 24 attacks by cougars on humans have been reported. The majority of incidents were not fatal, although four cases in El Dorado, San Diego and Orange counties resulted in fatalities.

No cases have been reported in San Luis Obispo County, but an attack occurred in 1992 in Gaviota State Park in Santa Barbara.”

Here is a little comparison…