Wildlife officials are investigating the death of a mountain lion west of Cañon City after it was killed by a man at a campground who said he feared for his life after it approached him and his dog.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the man was sitting outside his recreational vehicle on the evening of Sept. 25 when the female mountain lion approached the man and his dog, which began to growl and bark.
The man said his dog, a husky, engaged with the lion when it got to about 10 feet away. As the animals were fighting, the man got a shovel and hit the lion in the head, killing it, according to CPW.
The agency said its preliminary investigation found the man “was in fear of his life and acted in self-defense when confronted by a lion acting unusual and extremely aggressive.” The lion was about 95 pounds and its body has been sent to the CPW animal health lab for a necropsy.
The encounter does not qualify as a mountain lion attack because the man was never touched by the lion, CPW said. The agency said mountain lion attacks are rare, and there have been only 25 lion attacks on humans in Colorado since 1990.
