Mountain lion attacks man soaking in hot tub, Colorado wildlife officials say

A mountain lion snuck up on a man and his wife Saturday night as they were soaking in a hot tub west of Nathrop, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said in a release.

The two sat in their vacation rental’s tub around 8 p.m., when the man felt something grab his head, CPW spokesman Bill Vogrin said in a release.

“He and his wife began screaming and splashing water at the animal,” Vogrin said.

The woman grabbed a flashlight and shined it on the lion, which began to back up a bit, Vogrin said. As the couple continued to scream, the lion moved to the top of a nearby hill where it continued to watch the couple, who then left the tub and went back into the Chaffee County house.

Inside, the couple cleaned the man’s wounds and called state wildlife officials, who arrived and began searching for the lion, Vogrin said.

The man suffered four scratches to the top of his head and near his right ear, he declined any additional medical assistance, Vogrin said. State wildlife officials decided against tracking the lion with dogs because of the nearby housing developments and hot springs resort. Instead they set a trap to try and catch the predator.

“We think it’s likely the mountain lion saw the man’s head move in the darkness at ground-level but didn’t recognize the people in the hot tub,” Sean Shepherd, CPW area wildlife manager based in Salida, said. “The couple did the right thing by making noise and shining a light on the lion.”

“Although this victim had only minor injuries, we take this incident seriously. We have alerted neighbors and posted signs warning of lion activity,” Shepherd continued. “And we will continue to track the lion and lion activity.”

Saturday’s report marks the first time a lion has attacked a person since Feb. 27, 2022, Vogrin said, and it’s the 24th reported lion attack on a human since 1990 that resulted in an injury.

Some mountain lions in Colorado have been more active lately and encountered pets more frequently, in part because more people are moving into their habitat.

If you encounter a mountain lion you can report the sighting to Colorado Parks and Wildlife by calling their headquarters at 303-297-1192. Additional information is available online at cpw.state.co.us.