On the 11th January 2004 THE SUNDAY MIRROR newspaper reported, LION KILLS A CYCLIST, and the story was echoed in THE PEOPLE, under the headline GIRL SAVED FROM PUMA, and also spread like wildfire across parts of the U.S.A. where the incident took place. THE MIRROR reported that, “…a Mountain Lion (Cougar, Puma) was shot after mauling a man to death and dragging a woman 100 yards with her head in its mouth. Rangers hid near the body of cyclist Mark Reynolds, 35, waited for the lion to return to its prey and then killed it.
The beast also attacked Anne Hjelle, 30, a fitness instructor. He pounced on her as she cycled with her friend, Deborah Nichols, in parkland outside Los Angeles. It sank its jaws into her head and dragged her 100 yards into a bush while Miss Nichols held on to her friend’s legs. Miss Hjelle is now in a serious condition in a LA hospital.
Other cyclists fought off the animal by throwing stones at it.â€
The victim of the American Cougar is often a jogger or cyclist, maybe because they appear as prey whilst flitting through woodland etc. Such instances are tragic, and rightly so, the puma was killed. However, this does not mean that such animals are immediately persecuted nationwide, in the same way as Great White sharks are, because these incidents are few and far between, but they do occur.
Think your safe here in good ol' blighty? Neil Arnold goes on to say that.........
In the wilds of Kent, Cougar, Lynx, Black Leopard, possible Golden Cats, possible Caracal and Jungle Cats exist side by side. There have been no attacks on humans as yet............................
Bloody hell its a jungle out there!
