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Dogs track down lionAnimal bit 7-year-old boy walking with dad just west of Boulder
Rocky Mountain News ^ | April 17, 2006 | Julie Poppen

Posted on 04/17/2006 2:15:36 PM PDT by girlangler

Dogs track down lion Animal bit 7-year-old boy walking with dad just west of Boulder

By Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News April 17, 2006

Two hounds tracked down a young female mountain lion west of Boulder early Sunday, hours after it had chomped on the jaw of a 7-year-old boy who was walking hand-in-hand with his father.

A wildlife officer shot and killed the 80- to 90-pound cat in a Ponderosa pine just after midnight about a half-mile from the site of the attack on Artist Point near the summit of Flagstaff Mountain, said Tyler Baskfield, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Baskfield said it was the first serious attack on a human by a mountain lion in Boulder County that anyone could recall.

The boy was initially treated for his serious, but not life-threatening, injuries at Boulder Community Hospital. He then was transported to Children's Hospital in Denver.

His family declined to have his condition released Sunday or to make any comment.

"It's not typical mountain lion behavior to attack a person like that," Baskfield said. "All of west Boulder is mountain lion habitat. Very rarely do they come into contact with people. They tend to be elusive."

Baskfield said it took the dogs about an hour and a half to track the cat. As expected, the lion wasn't far away. She was perched high up in a tree on the edge of a cliff.

"It's typical mountain lion behavior after an attack like that," Baskfield said. "They're pretty curious to come back and see if they killed their prey."

Baskfield estimated the cat was between 1 and 2 years old.

Baskfield said the boy and his father were walking on a trail with six other people - mostly family members - just after 6 p.m. when the attack occurred. Some of the family members may have been visiting from out of town for the Easter holiday, Baskfield said.

One neighbor told the Daily Camera in Boulder that a family member told him they live in Washington, D.C., but were in Boulder visiting their son, who is a freshman at the University of Colorado.

When the lion attacked the boy, members of his family battered the lion with sticks and rocks. The animal quickly dropped the boy and fled, Baskfield said. The boy also suffered some scratches on his legs.

"The family did everything right in terms of defending the child," Baskfield said. "They used rocks and sticks and screamed at the cat."

Baskfield said the animal did bite down on the boy's jaw and was "probably going for the back of the neck."

Mountain lions are most active and do much of their hunting at dawn and dusk, he said.

A necropsy on the lion is scheduled for later this week to determine whether the animal had a disease or illness that might have played a role in the attack, Baskfield said.

There have been only two confirmed fatal mountain lion attacks in Colorado.

In January 1991, 18-year-old Scott Lancaster was attacked and killed while jogging in Idaho Springs. In July 1997, 10-year-old Mark Miedema, of Lakewood, was attacked and killed in Rocky Mountain National Park as he ran ahead of his family.

In October 1999, 3-year-old Jaryd Atadero disappeared west of Fort Collins while on a hike. Officials investigating the case suspect that he was killed by a mountain lion.


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: attack; cougar; doggieping; dogs; hounds; puma; vikingkittykilled; wildlife
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1 posted on 04/17/2006 2:15:41 PM PDT by girlangler
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To: girlangler

Kim Bauer survived a Mountain Lion attacked.


2 posted on 04/17/2006 2:18:35 PM PDT by iPod Shuffle
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To: girlangler
A necropsy on the lion is scheduled for later this week to determine whether the animal had a disease or illness that might have played a role in the attack, Baskfield said.

I'm thinking "appetite" is more likely. A 90-lb cat is a BIG cat...

3 posted on 04/17/2006 2:18:41 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Billthedrill

Appetite is most likely, although it's good for the kid to rule out rabies.


4 posted on 04/17/2006 2:20:51 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: girlangler; Flyer; technochick99; sinkspur; 88keys; DugwayDuke; sissyjane; Severa; RMDupree; ...

Just a couple'a hounds... not the ones in the article...

Ping!


Other articles with keyword "DOGGIEPING" since 12/29/04

5 posted on 04/17/2006 2:22:56 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: girlangler
""The family did everything right in terms of defending the child," Baskfield said. "They used rocks and sticks and screamed at the cat."

Why didn't Dad just pull out his handgun and shoot the animal? Certainly no responsible parent would be walking his child without being properly armed would he?

Oh, Colorado, ........ never mind

6 posted on 04/17/2006 2:29:21 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: muir_redwoods
Why didn't Dad just pull out his handgun and shoot the animal? Certainly no responsible parent would be walking his child without being properly armed would he?

That was my first thought also. Along with the bear attack the other day where that child was killed. No one had a gun???? Out in the wilderness with no protection?

I hope some parents learn from this.

7 posted on 04/17/2006 2:33:24 PM PDT by yellowdoghunter (I sometimes only vote for Republicans because they are not Democrats....by Dr. Thomas Sowell)
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To: HairOfTheDog

Now them there's some nice hounds.


8 posted on 04/17/2006 2:47:52 PM PDT by girlangler (I'd rather be fishing)
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To: girlangler

They seemed honest enough for the thread ;~D


9 posted on 04/17/2006 2:48:54 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
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To: HairOfTheDog; All
Here ya go --

Those hounds are fearless fellas.

10 posted on 04/17/2006 2:53:24 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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To: girlangler
To begin with, I wouldn't go out where mountain lions might be. They tend to hunt folks, you see. That's Rule #1. But if I was so unthinking as to disobey Rule #1, I would adhere to Rule #2, which is: pack a firearm sufficient to save my butt if attacked.

I have a niece who works for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska, and when she is on the job and out in the woods, she always packs at least a .44 magnum revolver. There be grizzlies and other critters that have big teeth in them there woods, you see.

11 posted on 04/17/2006 4:06:49 PM PDT by OldPossum
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To: OldPossum

I agree with that. I spend lots of time out in isolated areas, and have learned that it is better to be safe than sorry.

I am not in mountain lion country, and wouldn't care being in that setting. But, I'd be sure to have the means necessary to protect myself.


12 posted on 04/17/2006 5:40:53 PM PDT by girlangler (I'd rather be fishing)
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To: girlangler; Slings and Arrows; Glenn; quantim; republicangel; Bahbah; Beaker; BADROTOFINGER; ...
Bad Kitty! ping.


13 posted on 04/17/2006 8:14:14 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (When Al Franken had his bris, they threw away the baby and saved the foreskin.)
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To: girlangler
In July 1997, 10-year-old Mark Miedema, of Lakewood, was attacked and killed in Rocky Mountain National Park as he ran ahead of his family.

In October 1999, 3-year-old Jaryd Atadero disappeared west of Fort Collins while on a hike. Officials investigating the case suspect that he was killed by a mountain lion.

I remember these two cases. Jaryd's was particularly sad because they never found any part of him--just some clothes a few years later if I'm remembering correctly.

14 posted on 04/17/2006 8:18:56 PM PDT by beaversmom
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To: girlangler

Here's the timeline of events regarding Jaryd Atadero mentioned in the article:

http://www.windsortribune.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=746

Oct. 2, 1999 — Three-year-old Jaryd Atadero of Littleton vanishes during a hike on a trail in the Comanche Peak Wilderness Area west of Fort Collins.

Oct. 8 — Authorities call off the search after finding no trace of the boy in hiking area or nearby Poudre River.

Oct. 12 — Independent trackers find hand and footprints, but authorities say no conclusive links to Jaryd.

October 2000 — President Clinton signs bill dedicating the trail to Jaryd.

June 5, 2003 — Hikers find boy’s fleece pullover, pants and shoes on a mountain slope several hundred feet from the trail where he was last seen.

June 10 — Larimer County authorities say evidence suggests Jaryd was attacked by an animal, possibly a mountain lion.


15 posted on 04/17/2006 8:24:24 PM PDT by beaversmom
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To: beaversmom; proud_yank

Thanks for the links and info.

We need to remind others, every time outsiders like the Humane Society of the U.S. tries to outlaw hunting, that there are a lot of fakes out there -- the first and most effective conservationists are the ones closest to the land.

I'd like to see PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk set out in mountain lion or bear country, and watch her commune with the animals.


16 posted on 04/17/2006 8:40:16 PM PDT by girlangler (I'd rather be fishing)
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To: muir_redwoods; B4Ranch; Eaker; Squantos
Oh, Colorado, ........ never mind

Huh? Colorado is shall-issue. OTOH, these folk were from D.C. visiting their college son. Sticks and stones I guess.

17 posted on 04/17/2006 9:13:55 PM PDT by glock rocks
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To: girlangler

When I lived in Nebraska in 1973 there was an incident where a mountain lion attacked a young child while people were camping. In came into a travel trailer and grabbed a two year old. The child's grandmother jumped on the lion and stabbed it with a kitchen knife. Although she stabbed it many times, officers a the scene feel she probably killed it on the first stroke which hit it in the heart. The lion went down on the first stroke but she just kept at it. The child was not badly injured


18 posted on 04/17/2006 11:11:10 PM PDT by U S Army EOD (LINCOLN COUNTY RED DEVILS STATE CHAMPIONS)
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To: glock rocks
"Huh? Colorado is shall-issue."

Yes it is and if you can find a native Coloradan he would probably know better than to play amongst the lions unarmed. Colorado is, however, filling up with granola-greenies from all over and they seem to think ill of firearms.

19 posted on 04/18/2006 2:35:54 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: U S Army EOD

That's one tough grandmother, like mine were.

It's surprising what one can do when they are scared.


20 posted on 04/18/2006 3:52:16 PM PDT by girlangler (I'd rather be fishing)
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