Post by Bobcat on Jan 9, 2004 9:10:17 GMT -5
Jan 9, 8:00 AM (ET)
By GREG RISLING
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A mountain lion attacked and critically injured a bicyclist in an Orange County park and may have killed a man whose body was found nearby, authorities said.
The 2-year-old male cat, which weighed about 110 pounds, was later shot and killed, and its body was taken to a laboratory for testing, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Fish and Game Department.
Ann Hjelle had been riding with a friend in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park shortly before dusk Thursday when the mountain lion attacked her, said Orange County Fire Capt. Stephen Miller.
The lion pounced on the 30-year-old's back, grabbed her by her head and began dragging her, said her friend, Debi Nichols. Nichols said she screamed for help and grabbed Hjelle's legs in a struggle to free her.
"He dragged us down ... about 100 yards into the brush and I just kept screaming," Nichols said. "This guy would not let go. He had a hold of her face."
Other cyclists in the area threw rocks at the animal until it fled.
Hjelle was airlifted to Mission Hospital, where she was in critical condition early Friday, a nursing supervisor said.
After the attack, the body of an unidentified man in his 30s was found at the top of a trail near a bicycle. Authorities weren't sure how long he had been there and couldn't confirm if the man was killed by the mountain lion, but Miller said, "it's pretty obvious that an animal was involved." An autopsy was planned Friday.
By GREG RISLING
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A mountain lion attacked and critically injured a bicyclist in an Orange County park and may have killed a man whose body was found nearby, authorities said.
The 2-year-old male cat, which weighed about 110 pounds, was later shot and killed, and its body was taken to a laboratory for testing, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Fish and Game Department.
Ann Hjelle had been riding with a friend in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park shortly before dusk Thursday when the mountain lion attacked her, said Orange County Fire Capt. Stephen Miller.
The lion pounced on the 30-year-old's back, grabbed her by her head and began dragging her, said her friend, Debi Nichols. Nichols said she screamed for help and grabbed Hjelle's legs in a struggle to free her.
"He dragged us down ... about 100 yards into the brush and I just kept screaming," Nichols said. "This guy would not let go. He had a hold of her face."
Other cyclists in the area threw rocks at the animal until it fled.
Hjelle was airlifted to Mission Hospital, where she was in critical condition early Friday, a nursing supervisor said.
After the attack, the body of an unidentified man in his 30s was found at the top of a trail near a bicycle. Authorities weren't sure how long he had been there and couldn't confirm if the man was killed by the mountain lion, but Miller said, "it's pretty obvious that an animal was involved." An autopsy was planned Friday.
