Sean Gillies (Posts about mountain lion)

Interview with survivor of mountain lion attack

Sean Gillies — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 20:43:22 GMT

Wow, KUNC's Luke Runyon has the story and it's a wild one. It really has been the talk of the town.

News of the attack went viral. For more than a week, Kauffman's identity was not widely known. But that didn't stop internet theories from floating around about his purported background in martial arts, his workout regimen and his training in hand-to-hand combat. Colorado Parks and Wildlife fielded inquiries asking if he was single.

Take this to heart, people:

The foothills might feel like a place just for people, for recreation, Kauffman said. But they're wild places. Being aware of your surroundings while out hiking and trail running might save your life. He says the decision to not wear earbuds to listen to music saved his life. He heard the mountain lion coming before he saw it, and that might've given him the edge.

Mountains lions captured, Horsetooth reopens

Sean Gillies — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 22:09:18 GMT

Good news for local runners like me: Horsetooth Mountain Open Space is open again.

Over the weekend, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers captured two juvenile mountain lions at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. Wildlife officers will be moving the mountain lions to a wildlife rehabilitation facility. Colorado Parks and Wildlife plans to release the mountain lions back into the wild at a future date. A full report will be given on Thursday, Feb. 14.

"We have removed additional lions that we believe are siblings of the lion involved in last Monday's attack," said Mark Leslie, northeast region manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "The Front Range of Colorado plays home to many of Colorado's wildlife and we have an expanding urban interface and increased recreation pressure. The interaction between wildlife and people is going to increase and we need to find a way to balance the needs of people and the needs of wildlife."

With the assessment completed, Larimer County officials have decided to reopen Horsetooth Mountain Open Space to the public today.

I heard a rumor about this yesterday, but didn't want to blog it without hearing more.

Runner survives mountain lion attack at Horsetooth

Sean Gillies — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 15:55:07 GMT

From https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/News-Release-Details.aspx?NewsID=6832:

CPW and Larimer County DNR are investigating a mountain lion attack on a trail runner at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space on Feb. 4. The runner is recovering and the juvenile lion will be necropsied by CPW.

Whoa. It's quite possible that this cat has watched me on this same trail. I run up there by myself often and tell myself that I'm too big and too sweaty to be considered prey. But I'm always wary. No earbuds, ever, and I make sure to look up when traversing possible ambush spots. I'm glad the runner was alert and reacted to save their life. I hope I would have done the same thing. I feel sorry, too, for the mountain lion, which would be alive if it had kept its attention fixed on deer. Horsetooth Mountain Open Space would be less special without its wild cats and now there is one fewer.