A mountain lion killed one bicyclist and injured another attacking them near North Bend, Washington, approximately 30 miles east of Seattle.
Two men rode mountain bikes on a remote dirt road when the animal stalked and then attacked. It pounced on one man as he struggled to get away.
“The cougar had his head in his jaws and was shaking him violently,” Alan Myers, captain with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife police, told the Seattle Times.
Witnessing the attack, the second man got off his bike and ran into the woods. Officials say his actions triggered a chase response from the mountain lion which eventually attacked and killed him.
Isaac Sederbaum suffered bites to his face, neck and head but he is in satisfactory condition in a Seattle hospital. S.J. Brooks died in the attack.
Wildlife officials used hounds to locate and kill the mountain lion. They say it appears to be emaciated and sent its body to a lab at Washington State University where it will be examined.
Washington uses hunting as part of its mountain lion management efforts.
(Photo source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police)