Colorado authorities are investigating a possible cause of death of a woman who was hiking in the Rocky Mountains of that United States State this Thursday, as indicated by its Department of Natural Parks and Wildlife in a statement. If confirmed, it would be the first attack by one of these cats to cause fatalities in Colorado in a quarter of a century.
The woman was found by other hikers on a trail in Estes Park, a forested area about fifty miles northwest of Denver, around noon. The hikers saw a mountain lion near the victim’s body and scared it away by throwing rocks at it. One of the walkers in the group, a doctor by profession, examined the woman but found no pulse.
Forest guards closed the trails near the scene of the incident and officials from the Natural Parks Department shot down two pumas in the area, and veterinarians are now analyzing tissues from the animals in search of human DNA and to determine if at least one of them suffered from a disease, such as rabies or bird flu, that could have prompted them to attack a human being.
It is unknown if one or more animals could have participated in the woman’s death, although authorities are working with the hypothesis that at least one puma was the cause of the event. “There are signs that this fits with a cougar attack,” department spokesperson Katherine Van Hoose said at a press conference.
Colorado law requires that a person be euthanized if he or she has attacked anyone, to prevent a repeat of such incidents. If, after shooting down the two specimens on Thursday, scientists do not find traces of human DNA in either of them, the forest guards will have to continue the search for the animal responsible.
Mountain lion attacks on people are very rare in Colorado. In the last 35 years the Department of Natural Parks has received 28 notifications. The last incident that left a fatality occurred in 1999.
The pumas were there due to their indiscriminate hunting to collect rewards. Since then the population has recovered and today authorities estimate that between 3,800 and 4,400 adult specimens live in Colorado. These cats live in the heights of the Rockies in summer, although in winter the drop in temperatures makes them descend to lower altitudes in search of deer and elk to feed on. This decrease increases the chances of them encountering humans and dogs.
