Mountain Lion Attacks A Couple Relaxing In Hot Tub While On Vacation

A couple in Colorado was attacked by a mountain lion while they were relaxing in a hot tub outside their rental home. The incident took place in Chaffee County at approximately 10 pm on Saturday night, according to ABC News. 

While enjoying the hot tub, the man said that the felt something grip the top of his head.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife in a statement said, "The victim had four superficial scratches on top of his head and near his right ear." 

"By the time CPW was alerted and responded, the victim had cleaned the wounds and declined any medical assistance. The officers determined the injuries were consistent with the claw of a mountain lion."

The woman tried to distract and scare the big cat away by splashing water on it. The couple somehow managed to escape to their home and call for help, the statement said. 

According to CPW, "He and his wife began screaming and splashing water at the animal". It further said, "The victim's wife grabbed a flashlight and shined it on the animal, which they then identified as a mountain lion. The light and commotion caused the mountain lion to retreat about 20 feet from the couple in the hot tub."

The couple further said that they continued to scream at the mountain lion and after a short time it moved up to the top of a hill near some rocks where it crouched down and continued to watch them.

Area Wildlife Manager Sean Shepherd said, "We think it's likely the mountain lion saw the man's head move in the darkness at ground level but didn't recognize the people in the hot tub."

"The couple did the right thing by making noise and shining a light on the lion. Although this victim had only minor injuries, we take this incident seriously. We have alerted neighbours and posted signs warning of lion activity. And we will continue to track the lion and lion activity," the area manager said. 

The officials said that this is the first a mountain lion has attacked a human this year. There have been overall 24 attacks in Colorado.