The cat dialed back pressure through its crushing jaws, and the friend was able to pull away, fellow cyclists said in an interview one month after the incident east of Seattle.
A group of Seattle-area cyclists who helped one of their own escape the jaws of a cougar recounted their story this weekend, saying they fought the cat and pinned it down.
The woman who was attacked, Keri Bergere, sustained neck and face injuries and was treated at a hospital and released following the Feb. 17 incident on a trail northeast of Fall City, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.
Bergere said she spent five days at an area hospital and was still recovering.
Fish and Wildlife Lt. Erik Olson called the actions of her fellow cyclists “heroic” in the statement. But the extent of the cyclists’ battle with the 75-pound cat wasn’t immediately clear then.
If they are sick, malnourished, or injured and can’t feed their normal way, they may turn to optimistic opportunities (which is still different than hunting and seeing humans as prey). Not if they are hungry or the snow is deep JFC.
Isn’t that just another way to say “hungry”? And are they not more likely to be “sick, malnourished, and injured” when it’s winter time? JFC
Nor did I claim they were all that much of a danger under normal circumstances. But, they are wild animals and therefore unpredictable in their actions. While I do not fear their presence, I do understand things can go sideways very, very quickly despite everyone’s best intentions otherwise. And it pays me to be aware of my surroundings even in my yard when grilling a hamburger or out in the forest foraging for mushrooms and berries as the seasons dictate.
All animals are hungry. Only a very, very few are sick, malnourished or injured - which are the ones that turn to opportunistic opportunities and attacks. Not the same at all.
All it takes is one.