Cougar attacks two brothers in rare fatal incident

Sacramento, California - Two brothers were hunting in northern California when they were attacked by a cougar, but one tragically didn't survive the animal attack.

Two hunters were attacked by a cougar in California, and only one survived.
Two hunters were attacked by a cougar in California, and only one survived.  © 123rf/mazikab

Two brothers were hunting together over the weekend in the county of El Dorado, according to multiple media outlets.

The 21-year-old and 18-year-old were trekking through a remote area and looking for shed antlers when they were faced with the mountain lion.

When the cougar attacked the duo, the two brothers were separated, and the younger of the two alerted the police.

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When the emergency services arrived on the scene, they only found the 18-year-old with severe injuries to his face.

Other deputies found the missing older brother with the cougar crouched beside him. They fired their service weapons to scare the cat away, but the 21-year-old was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

The brothers' identities have not been released to the public, and the authorities did not offer any updates on the 18-year-old's condition.

The mountain lion involved has been killed

Wildlife officials from the California Department responded to the area and located the cougar. They euthanized the animal and used DNA from the attack to confirm that it was the same animal. It was a 90-pound animal that appeared healthy.

Mountain lion attacks are rare, and most are not fatal. The 21-year-old's death is the first fatal incident in California in 20 years, per the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's database.

The last fatal attack was in 2004, and since then, there have been 12 nonfatal attacks reported and verified by the Wildlife Department.

Cover photo: 123rf/mazikab

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