Posted on 01/26/2007 8:04:16 AM PST by rface
A woman saved her husband’s life by clubbing a mountain lion that attacked him while the couple were hiking in a California state park.
Jim and Nell Hamm, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month, were in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park when the lion pounced.
“He didn’t scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground,” Mrs Hamm said from the hospital where her husband was recovering from a torn scalp, puncture wounds and other injuries.
After the attack, game wardens closed the park, about 320 miles north of San Francisco, and released dogs to track the lion. They later shot a pair of lions found near the trail where the attack happened.
The carcasses were flown to a state forensics lab to determine if either animal mauled the man.
Although the Hamms were experienced hikers, neither had seen a mountain lion before Mr Hamm, 70, was mauled, his wife said.
Mrs Hamm said she grabbed a four-inch-wide log and beat the animal with it, but it would not release its hold on her husband’s head.
“Jim was talking to me all through this, and he said, ’I’ve got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye’,” she said. “So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn’t want to go in as easy as I thought it would.”
When the pen bent and became useless, Mrs Hamm went back to using the log. The lion eventually let go and, with blood on its nose, stood staring at her. She screamed and waved the log until the animal left.
“She saved his life, there is no doubt about it,” said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game.
Mrs Hamm, 65, said she was scared to leave her dazed and bleeding husband alone, so the couple walked a quarter of a mile to a trail head, where she gathered branches to protect them if more lions came. They waited until a ranger came and summoned help.
“My concern was to get Jim out of there,” she said. “I told him, ’Get up, get up, walk’, and he did.”
Mr Hamm was said to be in a fair condition today. He had to have his lips stitched back together and underwent surgery for lacerations on his head and body.
? That doesn't even make sense.
In the PETA world animals are far more important than humans.
I have a place just about twenty miles north of where this happened and not only are there mountain lions but there is more danger from the bear population.
A man was killed and a woman attacked by the same mountain lion a year or two ago about five miles from where I live. A small girl was badly mauled a decade or so ago as well. I'm sure you'd find many more attacks if you look them up, but your main point is accurate about the increasing occurrence.
Sounds similar to the story about the man getting his testicles ripped out by his pet monkey, during the monkey's birthday celebration. I'm glad this woman and her husband are okay.
2. Happy 50th to the young couple and many, many more.
It's time to repeal the Kitty Protection Initiative and reinstate lion season.
Brilliant!
Not to mention they are decimating the CA deer herds.
Fiftieth anniversary. Her age is 65. Married at 15!
HMM.
Fiftieth anniversary. Her age is 65. Married at 15!
HMM.
It is a good thing CA prevents them from carrying a sidearm. Escalating the violence was happily avoided.
sarcasm
"The husband cracks me up, really.... "Honey, reach in my pocket and see if you can't poke this thing in the eye with that pen I've got!"
Any man that loves his wife would have said "Honey, get the hell out of here quick........I Love You.....GO NOW!"
This guy seemed to be inviting the already Pi$$ed off cat to turn on his wife while she tried to poke out the lion's eye with a pen! What the heck would a man need an ink pen for while hiking in the deep woods? At the very minimum they should have been carrying a pocket knife.
... back in the Old Corps....VMI'70
And left her a widow who would forever feel guilty about not fighting for the man she loves.
This couple seems to do pretty well for each other, I don't think they need lessons in how to live from you. :~)
the food chain...of course...
The Gorilla eats the banana and the shark eats the Gorilla (see The Simpsons, episode # 133, 'Lisa the Vegitarian')
We adopted two small adorable kittens we found outside this past fall. We've been amazed to watch these adorable little furballs, however. My husband often comments that if our sizes were reversed, we'd be dinner.
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