Florida man fights off attacking alligator by poking its eyes; survives with 65 stitches

Mark Johnson, 61, has lived his entire life around alligators. That's why he was so surprised when one tried to grab him and drag him into a canal behind his southeastern Port St. Lucie home. Johnson managed to get the gator to let go of his leg by digging both of his index fingers into the hungry reptile's eye sockets. Even then, he felt lucky to get away alive. "I've always thought I had a greater chance of encountering a rattlesnake on my morning walks than I did of being grabbed by an alligator," said Johnson, a marine artist and Florida native who was born and raised in Winter Garden, near Lake Apopka. "This was scary. I was cussing the gator out saying, 'You're not going to get me into the water.' Johnson was walking at about 9:30 a.m. Sept. 13 along a canal with his 8-year-old golden retriever, Rex. He had seen the gator swimming southbound in the canal past where they were walking. Rex was right at the water's edge nibbling on grass when Johnson noticed the gator turn toward them. "I stepped down onto the mud bank and yelled at Rex to get on home. He left immediately, but my Croc got stuck in the mud. As I tried to wiggle it free, I saw the gator lunge out of the water and seize onto the back of my right knee." The force of the attack knocked Johnson to the ground. In shock, he twisted around and knew he had no chance at prying open the jaws. But he wanted to act fast before the gator tried to go into its "death roll," perhaps twisting his leg or a chunk of his thigh and calf off its bone. That's when he reacted with his fingers to the eyeballs. Somewhat to Johnson's surprise, the gator immediately let go and swam away. Johnson limped the 75 yards back to his screened porch, blood dripping down his leg. His wife of 25 years, Lou, immediately helped him get into the shower to clean out the wound and wrap a clean towel around it. They went to St. Lucie Medical Center, where the wound was disinfected and treated. He received 12 puncture wounds and about 60 stitches in his leg plus another five in the index finger on his left hand, where he cut it on the gator's eye socket...MORE

Heads up, horn hunters: No more midnight marauding

New regulations on shed antler and horn collection are now in effect that expand boundaries and delay the opening time some 12 hours this year. Updated directives expand seasonal closure areas to include enhanced critical wintering habitat, and also enact a new opening time of on public lands. The 2020 shed season opens May 1 at 12 noon. In years past, the closure lifted at midnight on May 1. Since 2009, Wyoming has prohibited the collection of shed antlers and horns on most public land west of the Continental Divide from Jan. 1 through April 30 of each year. The annual closure is to protect wintering big game. “In the winter, big game animals such as mule deer and elk use most of their energy just to survive,” said Rick King, chief game warden. “Limiting disturbance during this critical time of the year may help them hold on to more of their valuable reserves.” The closures affect land administered by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands and Wyoming Game and Fish Commission owned or administered lands west of the Continental Divide, excluding the Great Divide Basin...MORE

Hunting is ‘slowly dying off,’ and that has created a crisis for the nation’s many endangered species

...But today, that symbiosis is off kilter: Americans’ interest in hunting is on the decline, cutting into funding for conservation, which stems largely from hunting licenses, permits and taxes on firearms, bows and other equipment. Even as more people are engaging in outdoor activities, hunting license sales have fallen from a peak of about 17 million in the early ’80s to 15 million last year, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data. The agency’s 2016 survey suggested a steeper decline to 11.5 million Americans who say they hunt, down more than 2 million from five years earlier. “The downward trends are clear,” said Samantha Pedder of the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, which works to increase the diversity of hunters. The resulting financial shortfall is hitting many state wildlife agencies... A national panel has called for a new funding model to keep at-risk species from needing far costlier emergency measures. The crisis stands to worsen with as many as one-third of America's wildlife species “at increased risk of extinction,” according to a 2018 report published by the National Wildlife Federation. In December, environmentalists and hunters united in Washington behind two bipartisan bills aimed at establishing new funding sources and facilitating the recruitment of hunters...A few states are bucking the trend. New Mexico, where the number of licensed hunters grew nearly 10 percent over the past four years, credits its successes to R3 strategies such as making license applications available online and reaching out to Latino residents...MORE

Montana pays record amount for livestock killed by predators

The state of Montana has made more payments to ranchers for livestock killed by predators in 2019 than any previous year. The Montana Livestock Loss Board has paid ranchers more than $247,000, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported Jan. 9. The claims were made on more than 360 animals killed by mountain lions, grizzly bears or wolves. Officials said 2019 was the third consecutive year a new record was set for the payouts. Madison County had the most losses with 44 animals killed, officials said. The number of losses to grizzly bears almost doubled the losses to wolves, board Executive Director George Edwards said. The number of confirmed livestock deaths is rising, and Edwards predicted the trend will continue. The Montana Legislature approved an increase in funding for the Livestock Loss Board from $200,000 to $300,000 in 2019...MORE

Group's effort to halt Yellowstone bison hunt denied by federal judge

A preliminary injunction to halt this winter’s hunting of Yellowstone National Park bison in Montana has been denied by a Billings federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Watters issued an order on Monday denying the request by Neighbors Against Bison Slaughter and Gardiner-area resident Bonnie Lynn. Jared Pettinato, an attorney representing the group and Lynn, said he was disappointed with the ruling and his clients were considering whether to appeal or proceed with the lawsuit. The suit alleges that agencies of the federal government — including the National Park Service, Department of Agriculture and Forest Service — should not let the hunt continue in a quarter-mile-square slice of land at the mouth of Beattie Gulch. The Forest Service property is just north of the park boundary near Gardiner and provides one of the first places that hunters are allowed to kill bison when they leave the park. No hunting is allowed inside the park. The lawsuit argued that rather than address the situation, “the Federal agencies have foisted the dangerous and concentrated impacts of bison hunting onto a small group of private property owners, neighbors, and visitors.” Most of the hunting is conducted by Native American tribal members. In the winter of 2016-17 four tribes killed 375 bison. Since then the number of tribes exercising their treaty right to hunt has increased to six tribes. In the past two winters those tribes have killed another 375 bison. Watters cited the importance of bison hunting to the tribes in her order, noting that they still see the hunts as “an important cultural and spiritual use of land which subsists their people.”...MORE

You can read the decision here.

'I tried to punch it in the eye': 8-year-old boy fights off mountain lion attack with a stick

BAILEY, Colo. — It is a story of bravery in the scariest of circumstances. When a 65-pound mountain lion attacked 8-year-old Pike Carlson, he knew he had to fight back. “I was just punching, trying to grab anything that I can, like a stick,” Pike said. “I did find a stick and I tried to get it in the eye but soon the stick snapped.” Pike was playing in his backyard in Bailey with his older brother Gage when the attack happened. The Carlson family lives in a rural, mountainous area but they said they had never seen a mountain lion around their home before. As Gage ran into the home to tell his parents what happened, the boy’s dad, Ron Carlson, ran out to help. “That parental instinct to protect your child kind of kicks in," Ron Carlson said. "It never even entered my head that I was about to tangle with something that could kill me. All you know is you have to do something. It doesn’t matter what happens to you, you’ve got to protect your children.” The mountain lion had grabbed Pike by the head and dragged him under a tree. As Pike tried to yell for help, he also tried to fight it off. “He told me 'Dad, all animals have a vulnerable spot, their eyeballs,'" Ron Carlson said. "So he picked up a stick that was underneath the tree and was reaching back trying to poke it in the eye. "When I first picked him up, I could see the whole side of his face was open. There was blood all over him. His scalp was ripped open in several spots. It was something that no parent should ever see.” The lion let go of Pike just as Ron Carlson got to his son. From there it was a race to save his life...MORE

Washington sheriff takes lead in pursuing cougar

A Central Washington sheriff has sworn in hound handlers to pursue cougars and black bears, saying he expects his office to be quicker and more aggressive in responding to dangerous animals than the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer said he's heard increasing concerns from ranchers and others about predators. Since the sheriff took charge of chasing predators last last month, a cougar seen in a field with cattle was chased and euthanized, a livestock-protection measure Songer said he doubts Fish and Wildlife would have taken. "We don't have to wait for a killing," he said. "I feel very strongly that prevention is better than waiting for something to happen." Fish and Wildlife's chief law enforcement officer, Steve Bear, said he understands the sheriff has a duty to protect the public. He cautioned, however, against using hounds too freely. In the Pacific Northwest, people expect tolerance toward wildlife, he said. "Generally, if a cougar has not killed livestock, we do not euthanize the animal," Bear said. "If we ran dogs every time we got a report about a cougar around livestock, the public would take us to task, rightfully so." Using dogs to hunt cougars is banned in Washington, but wildlife managers can summon hound handlers to track and dispatch problem cougars. Previously, the Klickitat County Sheriff's Office relied on Fish and Wildlife to do that. State law, however, also gives sheriffs authority to use dogs to remove cougars, black bears, bobcats or lynx to protect livestock, pets, property or people. A rancher recently brought that to his attention, Songer said. "Otherwise, I would have launched this project much sooner," he said. "My intent is to maintain a good working relationship with the wildlife department. However, the sheriff's office, under this program, will be in charge. "I feel very strongly that this program will benefit public safety, and certainly be a big help to farmers and ranchers, and people who have domestic pets."...MORE

Arizona Game and Fish moves to ban coyote killing contests

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted Friday to ban organized contests where hunters try to kill the most coyotes or other predators for prizes like cash or hunting equipment. The 4-0 vote bans contests that require registration and a fee and award prizes for killing the most coyotes or other fur-bearing animals or predators. The ban needs final approval by a council appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey. Coyote-killing contests have drawn the ire of activists in recent years. The Oregon Legislature is considering a law banning the practice, and New Mexico's governor signed a new law banning the contests in April. The Arizona ban approved Friday doesn't apply to lawful hunting of predators or other fur-bearing animals...MORE

Young boy's dogs save him from being devoured by mountain lion

LEAVENWORTH, Washington — A cougar attacked a child Saturday evening in a city park in Leavenworth, Washington. The big cat was spotted Saturday afternoon in Enchantment Park and was acting abnormally, according to a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife statement. Officials searched the park for the cougar, but were unable to find it. The city then closed the park. However, around dusk on Saturday the cougar attacked a young boy. The boy’s two dogs fought the cougar, eventually running the big cat off. The boy suffered only minor injuries. “The cougar came out and did attack the child,” said WDFW Capt. Michael Jewell. “They had some dogs with them that they turned loose. The dogs intervened and were able to successfully chase the cougar away.” WDFW officers searched the park again, eventually finding and killing the cougar Sunday at 1:30 a.m. The cougar was a young adult male and did not appear to be unhealthy, according to WDFW biologists who visually examined the animal. WDFW will conduct further testing. Enchantment Park is in the heart of downtown Leavenworth, near the Wenatchee River. The park has a playground, play fields and hiking trails. Wildlife are not an uncommon sight, according to the city of Leavenworth’s website. There have been several recent high-profile cougar attacks in Washington and nationwide. On May 19, 2018, a cougar attacked two mountain bikers near Seattle, eventually killing one of them. In February, a runner in Colorado killed a cougar with his bare hands after being attacked on a trail...MORE

Gorsuch Joins Sotomayor’s Majority Opinion in Native American Hunting Case

The Supreme Court on Monday decided to uphold the hunting rights of the Wyoming-based Crow tribe, ruling that a Crow man charged with illegal off-season hunting in the state’s Bighorn National Forest was protected by a 150-year-old treaty between the federal government and the tribe. Justice Neil Gorsuch broke the tie in the five to four decision, joining Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s majority opinion stating that an 1868 treaty between the Crow and the U.S. still holds, as the Crow man, Clayvin Herrera, had claimed. Lower courts had argued that the treaty expired when Wyoming achieved statehood in 1890. There is not “any evidence in the treaty itself that Congress intended the hunting right to expire at statehood, or that the Crow Tribe would have understood it to do so,” Sotomayor wrote in her opinion. Gorsuch, a Colorado native who served for over a decade on a federal circuit court of appeals in Denver that covered 76 tribes, has joined the liberal-leaning contingent of Supreme Court justices to vote in favor of Native American rights before. In March, he broke a tie on the Court in a case dealing with whether the Yakama Tribe has the right to use public roads and avoid taxes on goods brought to their reservation, based on the terms of a 164-year-old treaty...MORE

The decision is embedded below or you can read it here.

Mountain lions roaming Colorado town in pride of about 10 'troubles' officials

Colorado wildlife officials issued a warning for the residents of Edwards this week after discovering a pride of 8 to 10 lions has been "roaming" neighborhoods in the area. In recent days, residents have stumbled upon several animal carcasses and at least two attacks on dogs have been reported. The recent increase in mountain lion sightings prompted officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to alert the Edwards-area to be on high alert. "This is a troubling situation and we are very concerned for the safety and welfare of the people in this area," CPW Northwest Regional Manager JT Romatzke said in an online statement Thursday. "We ask everyone to take this warning seriously." "We urge residents to be extremely cautious because lions are large, powerful predators and can be very dangerous if they've lost their natural fear of people," CPW District Wildlife Manager Matt Yamashita added in a statement. "We are monitoring the situation very closely." Based on information they've recieved so far, officials believe there are two female lions that are each traveling with a litter of 3 to 4 juvenile lions — though the young lions are "nearly full grown, as large or possibly larger than their mother," the CPW said. "It appears the female lions are teaching their young to hunt among a human populated area. Considering we are talking about nearly full-grown lions, this is not a sustainable situation. We will take the appropriate management action as necessary, but what the action will be remains to be seen and will be based on our assessment of public risk and the lion's behavior going forward," Yamashita added...MORE

How the trail runner attacked by a mountain lion in Larimer County killed the animal

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers confirmed through a necropsy that a jogger on Horsetooth Mountain in Larimer County survived a rare attack by a young mountain lion by suffocating the animal to death. “After additional investigation, including examination of the lion, we have confirmed the victim’s account that he was able to suffocate the animal while defending himself from attack,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials tweeted Tuesday morning. Although the runner was bitten and injured after the mountain lion attacked him Monday from behind, he fought for his life and was able to kill the animal. Yet questions still remain. It’s unclear whether the runner — who has not yet been identified publicly — strangled or smothered the mountain lion. He had no weapons, so he killed the cat with his bare, bleeding hands after climbing on top of the animal, state wildlife officials said. “It’s an amazing story. Everyone is baffled and impressed,” said Rebecca Ferrell, spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “He had no weapons, no knives or trekking poles with him. How did he do it? It’s pretty rare. That is definitely a twist on this, I’m sure.” The victim was running on West Ridge Trail when he heard something behind him, Ferrell said. As he turned, he saw the mountain lion pounce for his head and neck, she said. The mountain lion bit him on the face and wrist. The victim managed to partially block the attack with his forearms, Ferrell said. He managed to fight and break free from the mountain lion. Once he fended the mountain lion off, he counter-attacked the cat by getting on top of it, she said. There are still a few mysteries, though, including exactly how he suffocated the animal. Wildlife officers will go to the hospital Tuesday and ask him many questions about how he survived and then killed the mountain lion, Ferrell said. Wildlife officers also searched the trail where the runner told them his fight with the mountain lion took place, a Parks and Wildlife news release says. They found the dead mountain lion within feet of possessions the victim asked the officers to look for, it says. Although preliminary information from the necropsy confirms the jogger’s story about the cause of death, detailed information about the mountain lion’s injuries have not been released and could take several days before they are made public...MORE

On Monday evening, the victim was treated for serious injuries including facial bite wounds and lacerations to his arms, legs and back.

...detailed information about the mountain lion’s injuries have not been released and could take several days before they are made public. 

Apparently it is OK to release detailed information about the human's injuries, but details about the lion's injuries are being held close by officials? A dead cat has more of a right to privacy than the human victim?

Wildlife officers will go to the hospital Tuesday and ask him many questions about how he survived and then killed the mountain lion, Ferrell said.

They are not just asking him to describe what occurred, but instead will ask "many questions."

This suggests to me this is still an active investigation, and could explain why details of the animals injuries have not been disclosed, and won't be until the human has answered "many questions."

In other words, the human is being treated as a suspect in a murder case.

Colorado man fights off, kills mountain lion during trail run, suffers serious injuries

A Colorado runner was attacked Monday by a mountain lion during a trail run in the northern part of the state that resulted in puncture wounds to his face, arms, legs and back and the death of the animal. Rebecca Ferrell, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, tells The Coloradoan the man was running alone at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space near Fort Collins when he was attacked from behind. The runner, whose name has not been released, fought off the cougar-- killing it in the process-- and hiked out of the area and drove himself to a hospital. The Denver Post reported that the runner suffered serious injuries that included facial bite wounds and lacerations to his body. He is expected to recover. Wildlife officers searching the trail found the juvenile mountain lion's body near several of the runner's possessions. They estimated that the animal weighed about 80 pounds. “The runner did everything he could to save his life. In the event of a lion attack you need to do anything in your power to fight back just as this gentleman did,” Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region manager, told KKTV...MORE

Pa.woman punches bear, gets help from dog to survive attack

A woman survived a mauling by a bear by repeatedly punching the animal and crawling into a bush as her Chihuahua-mix distracted the attacker. Melinda LeBarron has broken bones, cuts and bruises and multiple bites after the attack outside her home in rural Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening, her son said. She remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday. Her dog — fittingly named Bear — was also bitten several times and has a broken sternum and separated ribs. "I'll just put it this way — she's very, very lucky to be alive," said her son, Trent LeBarron, who described her as a tough person. "She was punching the bear and everything. Her right hand's all swollen up from punching the bear." The attack began when she went outside with her dog around 6 p.m. When Bear the dog barked, Melinda LeBarron, a 51-year-old food prepper at a steakhouse restaurant, looked around to see what had startled the canine. "The next thing she knew, she was on the ground getting slammed around," said her son. The black bear dragged Melinda about 80 yards (70 meters) through her yard, across a road, and into a thicket, while the dog tried to intervene, biting the black bear several times. Some of her clothes were ripped off in the process. The attack left a trail of blood that relatives later followed. "As she said in her own words, the bear wouldn't show her no mercy at all," Trent LeBarron said. "It wouldn't stop." Eventually Melinda LeBarron went limp, and the bear took an interest in the dog, giving her a chance to climb into a small bush. She then threw a stick to distract the bear and finally made her way home to call a relative for help. Bear the dog somehow got back into the home and was found whimpering beneath a bed. "She's stable now," Trent LeBarron said. "She's doing good, she's actually doing very good. She has a long ways to go and a lot of lot of surgeries coming up." LINK

USFWS Expands Fishing, Hunting Opportunities On Wildlife Refuges

The U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is allowing more fishing and hunting opportunities on federal wildlife refuges around the country. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced FWS had finalized a rule allowing new hunting and fishing on 30 additional national wildlife refuges in Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wisconsin. With this expansion, the Trump administration is opening or expanding an additional 251,000 acres to hunting and sport fishing, which DOI says will yield millions of dollars in additional recreation-related spending. Under federal law, national wildlife refuges in all states are protected from recreational use to protect and conserve threatened fish and wildlife. But, under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the Service permits hunting and fishing along with four other types of wildlife-dependent recreation, including wildlife photography, environmental education, wildlife observation, and interpretation, when they are compatible with an individual refuge’s purpose and mission...MORE

I'm still waiting on the Seretarial Order to open up vacant allotments to additional livestock grazing.

Ranchers And Native Americans Battle At US Supreme Court Over Hunting Rights

A coalition of agricultural interests is backing the state of Wyoming in a Supreme Court Case over the hunting rights of Crow tribal members from a 150-year-old treaty. Eight agricultural groups filed a motion in support of Wyoming on Tuesday for arresting a tribal member, Clayvin Herrera, after he and several other Native Americans killed elk in Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest in 2014. Herrera sued the state, claiming a right to hunt on “unoccupied” federal land secured in a 19th century treaty between the U.S. and the tribe. “We are not seeking to overturn the hunting rights the Crow Tribe reserved in their treaty with the United States,” Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) attorney Cody Wisniewski said in a statement. “Quite the contrary, we are just asking the Court to treat the right as the both the tribe and United States understood it in 1868.” Herrera’s case against Wyoming rests on the meaning of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty that set up the Crow reservation. The treaty guarantees that Crow tribal members “shall have the right to hunt on the unoccupied lands of the United States so long as game may be found thereon, and as long as peace subsists among the whites and Indians on the borders of the hunting districts,” the treaty says, according to court documents. The case raises two questions about the Crow Tribe’s right to hunt outside the reservation: whether Wyoming’s 1890 statehood nullified the treaty by making all land inside it “occupied,” and whether a national park can be considered “unoccupied” federal land under the meaning of the treaty. The U.S. solicitor general Noel Francisco sided with Herrera against Wyoming when recommending the Supreme Court take up the case in May, according to the solicitor general’s filing...MORE

How Trump’s wildlife board is rebranding trophy hunting as good for animals

Donald Trump has called big-game trophy hunting a “horror show”, despite his own sons’ participation in elephant and leopard hunts, and in 2017 he formed an advisory board to steer US policy on the issue. But rather than conservation scientists and wildlife advocates, it is composed of advocates for the hunting of elephants, giraffes and other threatened, charismatic species. And observers say that since Trump took office, court rulings and administrative decisions have in fact made it easier for hunters to import the body parts of lions, elephants and other animals killed in Africa. Members of Trump’s advisory board, called the International Wildlife Conservation Council (IWCC), argue that the sport, in which wealthy hunters pay tens of thousands of dollars to shoot endangered megafauna, is a laudable method of conservation abroad. “This council will be focused on making hunting a better tool for conservation,” said John Jackson III, a member of the IWCC and founder of Conservation Force, an international hunting non-profit. Only two of the council’s 16 members are not active advocates for trophy hunting – the rest belong to groups such as Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association. Instead of discussing whether the sport should be limited, the group is focusing on how to broaden its reach...MORE 

The fight over Alaska's hunting rules runs deeper than using doughnuts to bait bears

Some hunters in Alaska use bacon grease or doughnuts to bait bears. Some use headlamps to find and shoot bears in their dens. Some kill swimming caribou from motorboats. These facts are undisputed. But whether such rare, unconventional methods should be used — and who can tell Alaskans how they kill the animals they eat — is an entirely different matter. A years-old conflict has pitted the state against the feds, conservationists against preservationists, and people who feed their families by stalking game in the wilderness against those who see certain types of hunting as inhumane. The tactics that have attracted the most outrage — the bacon, the spotlights, the motorboats — aren’t widely practiced. But they’ve become battle lines in a power struggle between Washington and a rural state with a deep tradition of independence and self-determination. Now the Trump administration is seeking to end the fight by undoing rules that restricted the controversial methods on federal land. It’s a move that has divided local hunters, though many see it as proper deference to local sovereignty. “Bureaucrats and anti-hunting influences should not determine what’s ethical in Alaska,” said Bruce Dale, director of the state Division of Wildlife Conservation...MORE

Secretary Zinke Proposes Expansion of Hunting and Fishing Opportunities at 30 of America’s National Wildlife Refuges

Continuing his efforts to increase access to public lands, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced a proposal to open more than 248,000 acres to new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities at 30 national wildlife refuges. Opportunities include places like Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge in Illinois and Wisconsin, and deer hunting in Philadelphia at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge being proposed for the first time. The proposal also outlines expanded hunting and fishing opportunities at 136 national wildlife refuges. If finalized, this would bring the number of units of the National Wildlife Refuge System where the public may hunt to 377, and the number where fishing would be permitted to 312. he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) proposal would open more new acres to hunting and fishing than in the past and takes steps to simplify regulations to more closely match state hunting and fishing regulations. The changes would be implemented in time for the upcoming 2018-2019 hunting seasons...MORE

Cougar kills mountain biker, injures another in Washington state

The cougar appeared to be stalking two men as they rode their bikes over the weekend in the Cascade Mountains near Seattle. Then suddenly the animal charged, the survivor of the fatal cougar attack told authorities. The survivor said he hit the cougar in the head with his mountain bike, and the animal ran into the woods. But as the men were catching their breath and getting back on the bicycles, the animal returned and fastened its mouth on the man's head, crunching down, shaking him side to side like prey, Kings County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ryan Abbott said Sunday, recalling the survivor's account. The man managed to get loose from the cougar when the animal decided to chase the man's friend, who was running away, according to Abbott. The King County Sheriff's Office said the two mountain bikers were attacked along a trail Saturday morning in North Bend, Washington. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The survivor was hospitalized. The suspected animal was killed. "It's an incredibly tragic story," Capt. Alan Myers of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife said on Sunday. "It's extremely unusual for a cougar to act this aggressively on humans." Myers told CNN affiliate KOMO the men did not provoke the attack. Myers identified the deceased victim as S.J. Brooks, 32. The survivor was 31-year-old Isaac Sederbaum, Myers said. Brooks was bitten in the face, legs and neck, and Sederbaum's injuries included bite and tear marks and claw scratches on his head, neck and face, Myers said. Sederbaum underwent surgery on Sunday and remains in the hospital, according to Abbott. As of Monday, he was in satisfactory condition. When the cougar released him, Sederbaum jumped back on his mountain bike to get away. As he looked back, he saw the cougar dragging Brooks into the woods, Abbott said. When sheriff's deputies located Brooks, the cougar was standing on top of his body, Abbott said. Brooks had been "dragged a short distance to where the animal partially buried the body under a log," Myers said...M0RE