First fatal mountain lion attack in 20 years leaves man dead and brother injured in Georgetown, California

One man died and another suffered 'traumatic injuries' to the face following a mountain lion attack in rural California - the first in two decades.

The men, two brothers aged 21 and 18, were searching for shed antlers in a remote part of Georgetown, a small community 50 miles outside Sacramento.

Around 1:13 pm Saturday, the 18-year-old phoned 911 to say that he and his brother were attacked, leaving him with 'traumatic injuries to his face,' according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. The teen added he had been separated from his brother.

First responders arrived at the scene around 20 minutes later. They began treating the 18-year-old and launched a search for the 21-year-old.

'Shortly after the search started, they located a man down, and next to that individual was a mountain lion in a crouched position,' Kyle Parker, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, told KCRA 3.

Deputies fired shots to scare the lion off before finding that the older man was already dead.

The animal was captured by wardens and trappers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It was euthanized near the scene of the attack, the sheriff's office said.

'The mountain lion has been sent to the CDFW forensics laboratory to obtain DNA information and general health of the lion,' the office wrote.

Mountain lion attacks are exceedingly rare, and the last fatal encounter in the state occurred in 2004, according to CDFW records.

Since 1890, there have been fewer than 50 verified attacks on humans in California, only six of which have been fatal.

What makes the attack even more rare is that victims are alone in most instances.

'When you hear about stuff like that, you get a little on edge,' local Daniel Lesher told KCRA 3.

'I was surprised to hear that it was going after humans. It's not uncommon for them to go after livestock.'

The circumstances surrounding the attack are unclear. The sheriff's office says more information will be made available after an investigation.

Mountain lions are solitary animals that travel alone except during mating or cubbing season, according to the National Park Service.

They are known as a keystone species, keeping prey populations in check and culling invasive species.

In the instances where lions do attack humans, most are injured, stressed, or hungry, the NPS says.

'A hungry, stressed mountain lion with only one good eye, upon observing an abundance of slow, frequently inattentive bipeds on park trails may attack one of us humans, hoping for an easy meal,' the agency wrote on its website.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13233537/mountain-lion-attack-georgetown-california.html

>This story seems like comms to me. Man on the ground with a lion crouched over him and the deputies fired warning shots?