A young mountain lion was euthanized after it swatted an 11-year-old girl in the face on Wednesday evening in a rural area southeast of Buena Vista.
The incident happened inside a chicken coop that belonged to the girl’s family while she was checking on the birds, according to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife news release. The girl found a dead chicken and when she opened the wooden hen house door, the lion swatted her in the face, leaving a puncture wound.
Wildlife officers responded to the home and found the small, sub-adult mountain lion still in the wire mesh coop. The lion was euthanized and its remains were sent to the CPW animal health lab in Fort Collins for examination. The young female weighed 30 pounds and appeared to be in good physical condition, according to the release.
The girl was treated at a Chaffee County hospital and released.
“This was a small mountain lion probably just looking for an easy meal in the chicken coop,” Sean Shepherd, area wildlife manager, stated in the release. “The victim likely surprised the lion. It probably felt threatened and it swatted at her as she entered.”
Shepherd believes the incident was a defensive swat by the mountain lion and not a stalking-type of attack because the animal did not pursue the girl, according to the release.
“Mountain lion attacks are rare, but we can’t take any chances when any predator makes contact with a human,” Shepherd said. “And we need to know if there was anything else going on with this lion, such as rabies, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza or some other infection that may have influenced its behavior. So it must be euthanized and tested.”
In March in nearby Nathrop, a man soaking in an in-ground hot tub was clawed in the head by a mountain lion.
“Both of these incidents are highly unusual,” Shepherd said. “I do not believe there is a pattern here. These were unfortunate coincidences. Nothing more.”
This is the 25th known attack of a mountain lion causing injury to a human in Colorado since 1990, according to the CPW. Three other attacks in Colorado since 1990 have resulted in human deaths. CPW does not characterize lion depredation of pets or other animals as attacks.
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