A man and his wife had a close encounter with a mountain lion while relaxing in an in-ground hot tub in Colorado.
The incident occurred on a Saturday night around 8pm in a heavily wooded area near a town in Chaffee County called Nathrop.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the man felt something grab his head and began to scream and splash water at the lion while his wife grabbed a flashlight and shined it on the animal.
The commotion and the light caused the mountain lion to retreat about 20 feet away from them. After the couple kept screaming at the animal, it then moved to the top of a hill and began to watch them.
Fortunately, the couple was able to get back into their home and away from another potential attack to clean the scratches on the man’s head.
CPW officers eventually arrived on the scene and attempted to find the mountain lion but were unable to do so due to the freezing temperatures and frozen snow on the ground.
They then set a trap nearby the resort complex in hopes of catching the lion.
Authorities said the attack was the first mountain lion attack in Colorado since February 2022. This incident actually marks the 24th recorded attack causing injury in the state since 1990, with three of those attacks resulting in fatalities.
Mountain lion attacks on humans are very rare. However, it is always important to be aware of your surroundings and take precautions, such as not leaving small children unattended outside and avoiding hiking or camping alone.
If you do encounter a mountain lion, it is recommended to make yourself appear as large as possible, make noise, and slowly back away.