Mountain Lion Claws Man's Leg On Colorado Porch, Runs Away – Patch

MONTEZUMA COUNTY, CO — A Colorado man got quite a scare over the weekend when he cracked open the door to his front porch and a mountain lion clawed at his leg, according to reports.
Michael Warren, 47, was at his home Sunday evening near Lebanon when he heard a thud on his front porch. The noise alerted his dogs, which began barking at the mysterious thud.
Thinking it was just his cats fighting, the man cracked open the door and put his right leg in the doorway to prevent the dogs from getting out. At that moment, a large paw grabbed his leg, leaving him with several puncture wounds.
Warren then watched a mountain lion run off. Security footage later confirmed what he’d seen: It was a mountain lion on the porch. The feline made its getaway through a porch screen with Warren’s dogs hot on its tail.

“It was a shock and happened so fast, not something you expect when you step onto your porch,” Warren told The Cortez Journal. “It just grabbed and latched its claws onto my leg. Luckily my dogs were right behind me and chased it off.”
State Parks and Wildlife officials were still trying to find the animal Thursday morning. A live trap was reportedly set to capture the big cat. The lion would likely be put down because it hurt a person, media outlets reported.

“We are still looking into it, and want to make sure we get the right offending lion,” Matt Sturdevant, district wildlife manager for the agency, told The Cortez Journal. “Any help from the surrounding area and the public would be helpful.”
He said officials believe the feline likely was a young, non-adult mountain lion that has lingered in the area for a while.
Mountain lions are generally calm, quiet and elusive, according to the state’s parks and wildlife website. They tend to live in remote areas where there are plenty of deer and lots of cover.
But such conditions exist in mountains subdivisions, urban fringes and open spaces. Encounters between mountain lions and humans have increased in recent years as more people move into mountain lion habitats, and as deer populations grow. Mountain lion populations are also growing, contributing to the rise.
Even so, people rarely get more than a fleeting glance at wild mountain lions. And attacks are rare, with fewer than a dozen deaths recorded in North America in more than 100 years. Younger lions were responsible for most of those deadly attacks, “perhaps forced out to hunt on their own and not yet living in established areas,” state wildlife officials said.
“Young lions may key in on easy prey, like pets and small children,” they said.
While there have been no studies on what to do if one encounters a mountain lion, some patterns have emerged. People ought to travel in groups when in mountain lion territory and make lots of noise. It also doesn’t hurt to bring a walking stick and keep kids close.
Additionally, don’t approach mountain lions, especially if they’re feeding or with kittens.
Should a big cat become aggressive, get big, raise arms and throw things. Then contact wildlife officials as soon as possible.
“Fight back if a lion attacks you,” officials recommend. “Lions have been driven away by prey that fights back. People have fought back with rocks, sticks, caps or jackets, garden tools and their bare hands successfully. Remain standing or try to get back up!”
Sunday marked the first reported mountain lion attack on a person in Colorado since a big cat attacked a person in Larimer County in March 2020. It was just the 23rd known attack resulting in injury since 1990.
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