A couple was relaxing in a Colorado hot tub until a mountain lion suddenly attacked the husband Saturday night (March 20).
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the incident happened around 8 p.m. at a rental home in a heavily-wooded area near Nathrop, a town in Chaffee County. The victim was sitting in an in-ground hot tub with his wife when he reportedly "felt something grab his head."
Both of them started screaming, the wife splashing water at the beast as it clawed the victim's head. It wasn't until she shined her flashlight on the creature that they learned it was a mountain lion.
The commotion was enough for the animal to retreat about 20 from the couple, who kept screaming at the wild assailant. The mountain lion moved to the top of a hill, crouched down, and kept watching the couple, according to officials. The husband and wife went back inside the home and cleaned four scratches on the husband's head.
CPW officers responded to their call and tried tracking the mountain lion, but freezing temperatures and frozen snow on the ground obscured its tracks. Officials set up warning signs in the area along with a trap at a nearby resort in hopes of catching the lion. The victim also declined any medical assistance.
This was the first mountain lion attack on a human in Colorado since February 2022, and the 24th known attack that caused injury in the state since 1990, the agency said. Three people have died from mountain lion encounters since 1990.