Cal
Well-known member
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/03/03/ap-state-sd/d8v64l400.txt
RAPID CITY, S.D. - A Rapid City man says he was attacked by a mountain lion.
Ryan Hughes says he was ice fishing Saturday near Chipper Bay on the south side of Sheridan Lake when a lion jumped him as he left the ice and stepped into the woods.
Hughes says the lion had a fresh kill in its mouth.
Before he could react, Hughes says the big cat jumped on top of him, knocking him on his back.
Hughes says he put his hands in front of his face and started kicking wildly. He told the state Game, Fish and Parks Department that the attack lasted for five minutes.
Mike Kintigh, a regional GF&P supervisor, said he questions if the attack lasted that long.
"Weve had our dogs that come in contact with a mountain lion for five seconds and we put 800 stitches in them. For this fellow to have a lion on him for five minutes and have the limited injuries that he had, I think time was standing still for him," Kintigh said.
The lion retreated, but it left the man with deep gashes on his arm and scratches and punctures on his face.
"There was a thin line of cattails. He walked into them, and then noticed there was a lion lying four or five feet from him crouched down," said Kintigh. "The victim reported the lion had something in its mouth, he thought it was a fox, so it does look like the victim unknowingly walked right up on the lion that was in the process of feeding. It may have responded to his presence as a threat of his food."
Hughes was treated at a hospital and released.
Dogs and law officers responded within a couple hours and began a search, but no lion was found. GF&P protocol calls for the lion to be killed if it's found. "At this point we feel that we have covered the immediate area very thoroughly and we cannot come up with the lion," Kintigh said. "We will continue to watch and monitor the area. We suspect that it may have been an injured or sick lion to behave in this fashion too, in which case past history would tell us that well get additional reports on it.
"In our eyes an attack is when there is contact between a lion and a human. Weve had some close calls where people were pretty scared by them, and the lions were pretty close to them, but this one there appears to be actual physical contact," Kintigh said.
There's no need for people to panic, he said. "I think I can say to anyone who worries about this is that this is an extremely rare occurrence. Lion attacks do happen. Weve stated that before. They have happened in other states, weve just havent documented one in recent history here," he said.
RAPID CITY, S.D. - A Rapid City man says he was attacked by a mountain lion.
Ryan Hughes says he was ice fishing Saturday near Chipper Bay on the south side of Sheridan Lake when a lion jumped him as he left the ice and stepped into the woods.
Hughes says the lion had a fresh kill in its mouth.
Before he could react, Hughes says the big cat jumped on top of him, knocking him on his back.
Hughes says he put his hands in front of his face and started kicking wildly. He told the state Game, Fish and Parks Department that the attack lasted for five minutes.
Mike Kintigh, a regional GF&P supervisor, said he questions if the attack lasted that long.
"Weve had our dogs that come in contact with a mountain lion for five seconds and we put 800 stitches in them. For this fellow to have a lion on him for five minutes and have the limited injuries that he had, I think time was standing still for him," Kintigh said.
The lion retreated, but it left the man with deep gashes on his arm and scratches and punctures on his face.
"There was a thin line of cattails. He walked into them, and then noticed there was a lion lying four or five feet from him crouched down," said Kintigh. "The victim reported the lion had something in its mouth, he thought it was a fox, so it does look like the victim unknowingly walked right up on the lion that was in the process of feeding. It may have responded to his presence as a threat of his food."
Hughes was treated at a hospital and released.
Dogs and law officers responded within a couple hours and began a search, but no lion was found. GF&P protocol calls for the lion to be killed if it's found. "At this point we feel that we have covered the immediate area very thoroughly and we cannot come up with the lion," Kintigh said. "We will continue to watch and monitor the area. We suspect that it may have been an injured or sick lion to behave in this fashion too, in which case past history would tell us that well get additional reports on it.
"In our eyes an attack is when there is contact between a lion and a human. Weve had some close calls where people were pretty scared by them, and the lions were pretty close to them, but this one there appears to be actual physical contact," Kintigh said.
There's no need for people to panic, he said. "I think I can say to anyone who worries about this is that this is an extremely rare occurrence. Lion attacks do happen. Weve stated that before. They have happened in other states, weve just havent documented one in recent history here," he said.