Victim in O.C. cougar attack refuses to be 'prisoner of the drama' (CA)

LA Times ^ | May 15, 2008 | William Lobdell

[jazusamo]

Finding strength in faith, Anne Hjelle is determined to recover after she was mauled while mountain biking in a wilderness park.

A young woman walked into a restaurant last week and sat close enough to get a good look at Anne Hjelle's face. A mountain lion had torn off the left side four years before, leaving it hanging by a flap of skin. Six surgeries hadn't camouflaged the scars.

"She saw me and had a deer-in-the-headlights look," said Hjelle, 35, of Mission Viejo. "She quickly got up and moved so she didn't have to look at me."

The stranger's reaction didn't hurt Hjelle's feelings.

"I've had to learn the hard way that beauty comes from within," she said.

Since being mauled by a mountain lion Jan. 8, 2004, while biking in Orange County's Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, Hjelle has been purposefully knocking down the fears borne from the jaws of a cougar. It's a determination driven by her love of the outdoors, the discipline and toughness drilled into her as a Marine, the courage gained as a competitive mountain biker and her belief that the Bible instructs her to "fear not."

A week after the attack -- her 40 bite marks and wounds held together by 200 stitches and staples -- she hiked to the spot where the cougar ambushed her, taking the lead as family and friends followed. It was her first step in making sure she wasn't going to be "a prisoner of the drama."

On a sunny winter afternoon in early 2004, Hjelle headed out for a ride with Debi Nicholls, a woman whose intensity during the rides matched Hjelle's.

Barreling down Cactus Hill Trail, a narrow dirt path that slices through tall brush and fields of cactuses, Hjelle saw a blur leaping from the brush...

[jazusamo]

Interesting story.

WARNING: Some graphic pics in slideshow.

 

Marc Martin / Los Angeles Times

Anne Hjelle rides her mountain bike up the Cholla Trail in the Aliso and
Wood Canyons Wilderness Park as Nicholls follows. Four years ago, a
mountain lion attacked Hjelle as she rode in Whiting Ranch Wilderness
Park and Nicholls helped save her. Audio Slideshow

[jazusamo]

Ping!

[sinanju]

Hard to believe that only twenty years ago, I read that there had been only one or two instances of outright cougar/human predation.

How times have changed.

[sinanju]

A nasty hit alright. But I would say she looks pretty good considering.

[jazusamo]

I believe as cougar numbers increase due to their protection in CA we’ll see incidents increase. The cats living in close proximity to man lose their fear of them.

[Sax]

Yeah, not belittling the trauma, but the scarring isn’t too terribly bad.

[jazusamo]

I agree, it’s amazing what plastic surgeons can do now.

[JZelle]

Great story of survival. God Bless her.

[valkyry1]

Same with the other large wild critters such as Bears, Wolves, Coyotes.

Back in the mid 90’s while mountain biking up on Sweeny Ridge in San Bruno Ca, I came upon a cougar in broad daylight.

[jazusamo]

Amen! She’s a very strong lady.

[VeniVidiVici]

Thank God the cougar wasn’t hurt. Attacking bicyclists can be dangerous.

[jazusamo]

That cougar was in tall cotton that day but a little piece of lead did a real number on him the next day. :-)

[Kimmers]

What a great story of inspiration. thank you for posting

I thought she looked great post attack, the surgeons hand was clearly guided by God.....

[MHGinTN]

More to the point, when you listen to her you realize that she is conscious that God has blessed her! Hallelujah ... once again we realize that God doesn't remove all obstacles in life, but He promises to be with us as we live them. Lest we tend to forget, He didn't remove the suffering of the cross ... resurrection was to follow it.

[SES1066]

Result for the mountain lion ...
Authorities believe the same mountain lion earlier that day attacked and killed another cyclist, Mark Reynolds, 35, whose body was found nearby.
Tests were being conducted on a 2-year-old, 110-pound male mountain lion that was tracked from the site by Orange County sheriff's deputies and killed. Tissue believed to be human was found in its stomach and DNA tests were planned to confirm a match, said Steve Edinger of the California Department of Fish and Game.

Apparently the test came back positive as there was no doubting of the mountain lion in later posts.

For those 'off-the-wall' animal rights crowd, note that this mountain lion, having killed earlier THAT DAY was still in a hunting mode. This was properly a case of better dead than capture and release elsewhere.

[x]

The O.C. You had your pick of "cougars" on that show ...

[Bon mots]

She has her own webpage.
www.AnneHjelle.com

[jazusamo]

Thanks for your post.

I’ve read numerous times that relocating cougars doesn’t have the results the animal rights crowd would like everyone to believe.

When relocated, the cougar will be put in a territory of another male lion thus causing the death of one of them sooner or later.

The problem lions are problems in the first place because they are forced into territories close to man. Fortunately attacks on man are still fairly rare but attacks on pets and livestock seem to be increasing.

[jazusamo]

Thanks for posting it, I had no idea and didn’t even think to check.

[jazusamo]

Those are attractive “cougars.” :)