{"id":385331,"date":"2026-01-03T11:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T11:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/385331\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T11:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T11:17:10","slug":"runner-fought-off-mountain-lion-with-stick-just-weeks-before-fatal-attack-on-same-colorado-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/385331\/","title":{"rendered":"Runner fought off mountain lion with stick just weeks before fatal attack on same Colorado trail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weeks before a hiker was killed in a suspected mountain lion<\/a> attack in Colorado, a man was nearly attacked by another big cat on the same trail.<\/p>\n

Gary Messina said he was rushed by a mountain lion while running along the same northern Colorado<\/a> trail on a dark morning in November.<\/p>\n

Messina said he threw his phone at the animal while it kept circling behind him and was able to get away after a couple of minutes when he broke a stick off of a log and hit the mountain lion over the head with it.<\/p>\n

“I had to fight it off because it was basically trying to maul me,” Messina told The Associated Press. “I was scared for my life, and I wasn\u2019t able to escape. I tried backing up, and it would try to lunge at me.”<\/p>\n

Oregon Child Attacked By Coyote During Game Of Hide-and-seek In Backyard, State Officials Sound Alarm<\/a><\/p>\n

\"close<\/p>\n

A mountain lion at the Wildlife Rescue Center in Alajuela, Costa Rica, Sept. 16, 2024.<\/p>\n

A woman who was found dead on the same trail on New Year\u2019s Day had “wounds consistent with a mountain lion attack<\/a>,” a Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n

Read On The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n

“Around 12:15 this afternoon, hikers on the Crosier Mountain trail in Larimer County observed a mountain lion near a person lying on the ground from about 100 yards away,” Kara Van Hoose\u00a0said during a news conference Thursday.<\/p>\n

After the suspected attack, wildlife officials killed two mountain lions and are searching for a third to determine if the animal had rabies or another disease.<\/p>\n

Bear Remains Under California Home After Weeks Of Failed Removal Attempts<\/a><\/p>\n

The attack was the first suspected fatal mountain lion mauling in more than 25 years, with the last one occurring in 1999.<\/p>\n

\"Mountain<\/p>\n

This photo provided by Gary Messina shows a mountain lion in the brush between two trees along the Crosier Mountain trail in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests near Glen Haven, Colo., Nov 11, 2025.<\/p>\n

Messina said he reported his incident days later, and officials posted warning signs about mountain lions that were later taken down.<\/p>\n

He said he believes the animal that attacked him may have been the same one that killed the New Year\u2019s hiker.<\/p>\n

Mountain lion sightings in that area of Rocky Mountains National Park<\/a> are common, but the animals are rarely aggressive.<\/p>\n

The New Year\u2019s Day attack would be the fourth fatal one in North America<\/a> in the last decade and the 30th since 1868, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.<\/p>\n

“As more people live, work and recreate in areas that overlap wildlife habitat, interactions can increase, not because mountain lions are becoming more aggressive, but because overlap is growing,” the organization\u2019s chief conservation officer, Byron Weckworth, said.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/p>\n

Authorities suspect a lone woman hiker in Colorado was killed in a rare mountain lion attack on New Year’s Day.<\/p>\n

Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n

To avoid risk of an attack, experts tell nature seekers to avoid dawn and dusk, when mountain lions are most active and to travel in groups.<\/p>\n

During an encounter, experts suggest maintaining eye contact with the animal, trying to appear as large as possible, slowly backing away without turning your back on the animal and not running.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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