First fatal attack by a California mountain lion in 20 years claims a man’s life and injures his brother

A weekend trip to the woods of Northern California took a horrific turn for two brothers when they were attacked by a mountain lion. One of them was killed while the other suffered serious facial injuries, authorities said.

According to California authorities, this was the first fatal attack by a cougar in the state in 20 years.

The attack occurred Saturday afternoon as the brothers, ages 21 and 18, were searching for shed deer antlers near the El Dorado National Forest, about 52 miles northeast of Sacramento, authorities said.

The teenager, who survived the attack, called 911 around 1:13 p.m. PT to report that they had been attacked by a cougar and that he had been separated from his older sibling, according to a statement from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

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When deputies and paramedics arrived at the scene of the accident near Georgetown around 1:34 p.m., they found the injured teenager and began first aid, the sheriff’s office said.

Additional officers dispatched to the scene began searching for the teenager’s brother and found him lying motionless on the ground nearby, according to the sheriff’s office. The mountain lion was crouched between them and the fatally injured man.

“The officers fired their firearms to scare away the mountain lion so they could provide medical assistance,” the sheriff’s office said.

However, when they reached the victim, he was already dead, authorities said.

The teenager was taken to a local hospital where he was treated. Information about his condition was not immediately released.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife rangers and an El Dorado County trapper combed the area for the mountain lion, authorities said.

“The mountain lion was killed and its body recovered for further examination,” the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities said DNA samples collected at the crime scene matched those of the dead lion.

Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare in California, authorities said. According to the state Fish and Wildlife Service, the last fatal mountain lion attack in California occurred in January 2004, when a 35-year-old bicyclist was killed on a trail in Orange County, authorities said.

The last fatal mountain lion attack in El Dorado County occurred in April 1994, when a 40-year-old woman was killed in Auburn State Recreation Area, authorities said.

Since 1890, fewer than 50 cougar attacks on humans have been reported in California, including six fatal ones, officials said.

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In February, a group of cyclists near Seattle, Washington, saved the life of a fellow cyclist by fending off a cougar that attacked them on a hiking trail, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

The frightening human-animal encounter occurred near Fall City, Washington state, about 25 miles southeast of Seattle. 60-year-old cyclist Keri Bergere was hospitalized with serious injuries, officials said. Four other cyclists were injured while rushing to help Bergere, who suffered injuries to her face, neck and jaw.

“I think about it all the time that if the four ladies I was with hadn’t jumped in and saved my life, I could be dead,” Bergere said in an interview with ABC News last week. “We were all out there fighting, but I couldn’t have done it alone.”

First fatal California cougar attack in 20 years leaves one dead and his brother injured. Originally published on abcnews.go.com