This page covers the time period for biologist
Paul Beier's research (1890 - 1990). It includes material from
Thomas Jay Chester's Research
with data I have found to contribute. Further incidents can be viewed
starting
here for 1991 - 2000 and
here for 2001 - Now.
Hunter incidents, attacks on animals, non-injury encounters, and accounts not confirmed to be cougar attacks
have been moved to
This Separate Page
[1991-2000 attacks]
[2001-Now attacks]
[Other Incidents]
Deaths are highlighted in red text.
1890
(1 Report found of a fatal attack resulting in one
death)
19 June
. A 7-year-old boy, Arthur Dangle was
killed by two lions while playing among oak trees some distance from
his home in Quartz Valley, Siskiyou County, California. Sources:
(1995 DFG Outdoor California)
(Paul Beier; 1991)
("Cougar Attacks - Encounters of the Worst Kind" by Kathy Etling; The Lyons
Press; Copyright 2001, Page 148 and 229)
1909
(1 Report found including two deaths result from
rabid lion bites)
05 July
. A mountain lion injured 38-year-old Isola Kennedy
and 10-year-old Earl Wilson near Morgan Hill in Santa Clara County,
California. Both were said to have died of rabies
9 weeks and 7 weeks later respectively, but no tests were done, and they
more probably died of blood poisoning as the symptoms of high fever,
lockjaw, and spinal meningitis were listed. According to the June, 1994,
Animal People Online News,
Jogger's death starts puma panic,
Morgan Hill school teacher Isola Kennedy, 38, and her pupil Earl Wilson, 8,
survived their wounds, but died of the rabies some weeks later. The age of
the boy differs from other accounts, so this version needs verification.
According to researcher and historian Beth Wyman, no symptoms of rabies
were reported for either victim, and the boy was 10, as most others report.
Sources:
(1995 DFG Outdoor California)
(Paul Beier; 1991)
(Morgan Hill Times;
Historic Attack
by Beth Wyman; 03/26/2004)
1910 - 1988
As few as 6 deaths - possibly due to bountied hunting
1916
(1 Report found)
23 September
. Friends, Doreen Ashburnham, 11, and Tony Farrer,
8, were walking the trail to Bear Lake near the town of Cowichan Lake
in British Columbia looking for their horses. The two youngsters were carrying
bridles with big snaffle bits when they saw a cougar lying on the trail
facing them. Doreen must have turned, as the lion jumped on her back knocking
her to the ground gnawing and clawing her back and hip. Tony came to the
rescue, hitting the lion repeatedly with his bridle. The lion backed off
Doreen and both children tried to drive the lion away with their bridles.
But the lion sprang forward again, "catching Tony by his forehead with
its front paw, ripping his scalp, then his shoulders, his hips, his legs
into ribbons of flesh." Afraid of hitting Tony with her bridle Doreen says,
|
So I jumped on his back and I reached around and put my
arm in his mouth—you can see where I got nicely chewed up in a few thousand
places—and I managed to scratch a little bit [sic] his eyes and it finally
let go. |
 |
A 2.5-year-old lion with cataracts was found and shot. As Doreen
recovered from blood poisoning and Tony from the multiple lacerations
all over his body, a congratulatory letter sent by former American President
Teddy Roosevelt was just one of a flood. Sources:
(Welcome to Cowichan Lake!)
(Paul Beier; 1991)
1924
(1 Report found including one death)
17 December
. A 13-year-old boy, Jimmie Fehlhaber,
was killed by a cougar near Olema, Washington. He had been sent
to pick up a team of horses at a neighboring ranch. On snowshoes, he took
a shortcut that followed a winding trail and dropped down into a coulee
at one point. Tracks in the snow indicted the cat had followed the boy,
staying out of sight in the brush to one side of the trail. When Jimmie
finally spotted the cat, he ran to a small tree, probably with the hope of
climbing it. He managed to cover 100 yards that separated him from the cougar
before it leapt onto the boy and knocked him to the ground. Evidence showed
that the boy fought back, stabbing and slashing the cougar with a small
jack-knife. But the cougar prevailed. The boy's
hands had been badly chewed up, and his thigh partially consumed. Then the
cougar had partially covered his body and left. Recovered
at the scene were the open jack knife, a good luck charm the boy carried,
and the animal's left front dew-claw, which he had managed to cut off before
he died. A bounty was offered and the cougar was shot and various accounts
reported it in good health and a in state of starvation, 3-years-old and
13-years-old, male and female, one cougar and two cougars. Sources:
(Cougar Attacks on Humans in the United States and Canada; Paul Beier; 1991)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
(John Craig;
The Spokesman-Review;
08/25/99)
(Backpacker.com,
Cougar Attacks Growing In Washington, 09/02/99)
("Cougar Attacks - Encounters of the Worst Kind" by Kathy Etling; 2001;
pages 91-92 and 230)
1949
(1 Report found including one death in British
Columbia)
June
. Dominic
Taylor, 7, of Kyuquot, British Columbia, 150 kilometres north of Tofino,
was killed while walking on the beach. The
boy was mauled and dragged into the bush. The cougar was scared off by
the boy's father, who heard his son's cries for help, but it was too late.
Source:
(British Columbia Newspaper Awards)
1953
(1 Report found)
02 March
. At about noon, 43-year-old Gerald Walters, a woodsman
and guide was attacked by a cougar while fishing Victoria Lake on the
north end of Vancouver Island. He was with R.H. "Buck" Richmond, manager
of the Alaska Pine and Cellulose pulp mill at Port Alice and their sons.
After
several hours of fishing, they went ashore and built a fire for lunch.
Walters walked into the timber to gather more wood for the fire. As he
bent to choose twigs and branches, he happened to glance up and see a
cougar crouched down low behind a downed log, ready to spring. It hissed,
then lunged at Walters. Walters screamed, "A cougar's got me!" and when
Richmond decided he was serious, he raced to the scene with his ax.
When he arrived, he found Walters and the cougar rolling about on the
ground. Walters had one hand down the cat's throat and was holding it's
loose throat skin with the other, as he tried to distance the cat's fangs
from his face and throat. For her part, the cougar was biting and clawing
the man's hand for all she was worth. Richmond waited until the cat was on
top and drove his ax blade all the way through the cougar's spine. This
did not stop the cat, and it took 3 more hard whacks with the back of his
ax to kill her. After the cat was dead, it's jaws had to be pried from
the man's hand. Walters suffered sever lacerations on his right leg and
bites to his right hand. Richmond suffered only scratches.
The female lion measured 5' 7". According to researcher Paul Beier, the
cougar was a 2-year-old of normal weight. John Lesowski, the investigating
officer for the British Columbia Fish and Game Branch told Walters and
Richmond that the cat was very thin and near starvation. This may have
been one of the earliest in a long series of cover-ups for normal
cougar behavior by a wildlife official. Sources:
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
("Cougar Attacks - Encounters of the Worst Kind" by Kathy Etling; The Lyons
Press; Copyright 2001, Pages 75-76 and 194) (e-mail from to-be-named)
1970
[1970's: Several mountain lion attacks
on humans were reported in Colorado between 1970 and 1976, but there were
no fatalities. The attacks included the mauling (below) of a 14-year-old
Pueblo boy and a 2-year-old Cortez (Lewis) boy (below) whose leg was bitten.
Source: (Deborah Frazier;
Rocky Mountain News); 09/13/89]
(1 Report found)
02 June
. A 2-year-old Lewis, Colorado, boy, Travis Imel, left
to play in his yard, had his leg bitten by a mountain lion.
It was about 9:00 a.m., and I was playing in the yard. I was at our residence
in Lewis, Colorado. Lewis is about 15 miles north of Cortez, Colorado. I wandered
into our garage and saw the lion under a workbench. Unafraid, I went to play
with the cat. It bit my right leg (I still have nice scars from his canines).
At that point, I screamed and my grandmother came to see what was going on.
She found me lying on the garage floor. They think the lion was still under
the bench. She could tell that an animal caused my injuries. She grabbed me,
and on the way out, she shut the garage door to lock in anything that might
be in there. She called a neighbor who picked us up and took me to the
hospital. (My Grandfather was working on the farm.) I did not have any
stitches. The cougar's canine teeth went to the bone with only some tearing,
so they left the wounds open.
Later that day, animal control and some neighbors went in with small
nets to catch whatever bit me; they thought it was a dog or bobcat. After
finding nothing on the floor of the garage, my grandfather placed a ladder
to the rafters, where there was some storage. At the top, he came face to
face with the cat. Everyone got out of the garage in a hurry. The Sheriff
and Fish & Game were called. Also called was Melvin Forest (A government
trapper) who brought hounds. While the hounds kept the lion up in the
rafters, the game warden shot the cat with a tranquillizer. The warden
named in the newspaper was Millard Graham, but I think there was
more than one.
They took the lion to the vet clinic where they held the cat to check for
rabies. After about 10 days, the lion was set to be released into a
wilderness area. The lion was a healthy, young, 150 pound male. At
transport time, the lion was accidentally
given too much tranquilizer and died.
I heard the lion was stuffed and placed in some state building or wildlife
museum. I sure would like to see him again. This ran in all local news, the
Denver paper and, I believe, in some larger California papers. My Cousin
in Vietnam even heard it on the radio. We received letters from all over.
Sources:
(Statistics on mountain lion attacks in Colorado)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
(e-mails from Travis Imel, early April, 2003)
1971
(1 Report found including one death in British
Columbia)
03 January
. Lawrence
Wells, 12, was mauled to death by a 12-year-old male cougar near Lytton,
British Columbia, while playing near his home with his two younger
sisters. Wells' father shot the cougar, but the boy was already dead. Sources:
(British Columbia Newspaper Awards)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
1972
(1 Report found)
16 October
. 10-year-old Randy Brewer was attacked while walking
along Goldson Road with his brother near Cheshire, Oregon, in Lane County about
11 miles west of Junction City. He was bitten on the neck and scratched
on the right arm. A young cougar was subsequently spotted several times
in the area and was shot by neighbors on October 23. Sources:
(Cougar Conflict Challenges in Lane County)
(Hunters.com;
05/08/2000)
(E-mail from Oregon D.F.G. South Willamette District Wildlife Biologist,
William Castillo; 02/13/01)
1974
(2 Reports found, including one death in British
Columbia)
20 January
. An 8-year-old boy, Kenneth
Clark Nolan, was killed by a 47 pound, emaciated, 3-year-old female
cougar at Arroyo Seco, New Mexico. Kenneth was playing in the
"rabbit brush" and gullies with his 7-year old half brother David Cordry
less than a mile from their home. Suddenly they glanced up and saw a
mountain lion ready to pounce. They started to run and the cougar caught
Kenneth and started biting him on the back. David tried to push the lion
away, and it reached for him with it's forepaws, tearing the boy's coat
and inflicting superficial scratches. Realizing they were overpowered,
David then ran for help, but was so hysterical that it took him 20
minutes to direct his father, State Patrolman, David Condry, to the
attack site. Their German Shepherd mix dog began baying which led them to
the cougar standing over the dead boy. Cordryshot the lion with his
revolver 3 times before the still snarling lion fled. Condry, knowing his
son was dead, sat down and wept. His neighbor James Meyer, took up the
chase and killed the wounded cougar with his rifle. Though emaciated and
having insufficient white blood cells (possibly due to severe infection or a
fatal condition), it was found to be not rabid. The necropsy report was
inconclusive as to whether this cat had ever been a pet or captive. A year
before the attack Cordryhad seen a "hippie" type girl hitch-hiking in their
Pojoaque Valley area with a young big cat on a leash. Sources:
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
("Cougar Attacks - Encounters of the Worst Kind" by Kathy Etling; The Lyons
Press; Copyright 2001, Page 127-129 and 232)
1976
(2 Reports found, including one death in British
Columbia)
14 July
. Matilda
May Samuel, 7, of Port Alberni was killed by a 2-year-old male cougar
while picking berries along a gravel road near Gold River, British Columbia,
on Vancouver Island. She was with an adult and an older child, (*Etling
reports that she was with a 15-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy). When
they heard the noise and saw the cougar already upon Matilda, they shouted
at it and the cougar backed away, but only briefly. Then it pounced on
Matilda again. At that point, the police said the two were too frightened
to do anything but run for help.
Mathilda was visiting relatives who lived on a nearby Indian reserve across
the road from the Muchalat pulp mill where many local people worked. Unknown
to the three, just a few hours earlier, a cougar had stalked a mill worker and
then given serious chase to him as he drove away on his motorcycle that he was
riding to work at the mill. The man did not report this until after hearing
of Matilda's death.
The cougar also had been eating from the carcass of a deer recently killed
close to the attack, so it may have killed Matilda merely to protect it's
kill. After the lion was shot, investigating Wildlife control officer for the
British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Dan Lay, said, "The cougar still
had fresh remains from a deer kill in its stomach. It just licked up the
girl's blood, left her lying in the ditch where it had dragged her, and
then moved on." Sources: (Don Zaidle;
Outdoor Life Online;
Killer Cougars; February 2001)
(British Columbia Newspaper Awards)
("Cougar Attacks - Encounters of the Worst Kind" by Kathy Etling; The Lyons
Press; Copyright 2001, Page 79-80 and 232)
(The Vancouver Sun 07/15/1976 and 07/20/1976)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
22 December
. 14-year-old Thane Morgan of Rye, Colorado, (near
Pueblo, Colorado) was attacked by a cougar while snowshoeing on the
trails of San Isabel National Forest Christmas weekend. While preparing
for his trip, he decided to take along a small hunting knife, which he
tossed into his backpack, thinking nothing more of this meager weapon which
would, never-the-less, save his life. Thane hadn't traveled far on his
adventure when a cougar sprang out of some cover and bounded up to him
and then crouched low just a few feet away. Then it leaped onto him, biting
his skull and head and digging its claws into his body. Thane was
5' 6" tall and weighed about 120 pounds. He fought back with every bit
of his strength. Free a moment from the cougar, he managed to grab his
knife out of his backpack. He was able to wound the cougar enough to
cause it to lope away.
Thane made his way to a neighbor's house where he got help. Later at the
hospital Kathy Etling reports that he received hundreds of stitches to
close up wounds to his head and back. (In her table, Etling reports that
it was over a thousand stitches to repair face, scalp, and hand wounds?)
Etling reports that the cougar was later shot and found to be blind in one
eye. From Paul Beier's research, it was a 1.5-year-old female lion. Sources:
(Statistics on mountain lion attacks in Colorado)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
("Cougar Attacks - Encounters of the Worst Kind" by Kathy Etling; The Lyons
Press; Copyright 2001, Page 132-133 and 200)
1979
(2 Reports found)
19 February
. A 9-year-old girl (Fife) was surprised by a cougar
attacking her at about 5:00 p.m. at Boston Bar, British Columbia. She was
with other children and fought the 5-year-old, female cougar.
The lion was shot and was found to be underweight. Sources:
(Hope Standard 02/21/1979)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
7 August. A 4-year-old girl (Walkus) was attacked by a female cougar
in Port Hardy, British Columbia (on Vancouver Island) at about 6:00 p.m. She
was with other children in earshot of an adult. The lion was shot and
estimated to be underweight. Sources: (Vancouver Sun 08/10/1979)
(Wildlife Branch of the Province of British Columbia files)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
1983
(2 Reports found)
24 April
. At about 3:30 p.m. a cougar attacked three boys from Port
Alice, British Columbia, (on north Vancouver Island) who were playing on
the top road in the dyke area behind the water towers where the bush is
thick. The cougar began growling and circling Terrance Shanks, 10, David
Stewart, 6, and Scott Wing, 9, who was up in a tree. The boys froze but
cried out loudly. The cougar grabbed Wing's foot and bit through his shoe,
leaving a tooth mark on his foot. It attacked Shanks, biting him in the arm
and leg. After the attack, all three boys ran down the hill. The two older
boys ran to the nearest home in the area where the RCMP was
called. The youngest boy ran to his house. Shanks required medical attention
including three stitches. Stewart was unharmed.
Nanaimo conservation officer, Dan Lay, and two other officers started tracking
the cougar with dogs. They worked for three days before calling off the hunt.
It is unclear what happened to the cougar. It was estimated to be a young one
from the boys' descriptions and from the teeth holes in Shanks' jacket. It
still had milk teeth, so Lay felt the pack of 7 dogs could have killed this
young, relatively small, inexperienced cougar. Sources:
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
(Wildlife Society Bulletin 19:403-412. 1991)
(Mail with articles from an area newspaper from Scott Wing; 08/24/2002)
Date not given. Woman stalked in California.
See this non-injury report HERE
1984
(1 Report found)
02 August
. David Vaught, 8, of Garland,
Texas, was clawed by a mountain lion while visiting Big Bend National Park
in Texas. Source: (Gary Gerhardt;
Rocky Mountain News; 09/23/90)
1985
(2 Reports found)
28 May
. A 12-year-old boy (Wilson) was attacked by a cougar in
Pacific Rim National Park on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, at about
7:00 p.m. He was alone but within adult earshot. He fought back. Sources:
(The Vancouver Sun; 05/29/1985) (Victoria Times-Colonist; 05/30/1985)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
3 August. At about 7:00 p.m. a 10-year-old girl (Parker) was attacked
by a young male cougar at Sooke, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. She was
with other children, within adult earshot. She tried to run away, but the
cougar grabbed her head in it's mouth. After it was shot, the 18-month-old
cougar was found to be of normal weight. Sources:
(The Vancouver Province; 08/06/1985) (The Vancouver Sun; 08/06-07/1985)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
1986
(2 Reports found)
23 March
. A lion attacked a 5-year-old
girl, Laura Small, in Caspers Regional Park, Orange County, California,
resulting in a $2 million court judgment against Orange County for not
posting warnings about cougars that were known to be menacing in the area.
Laura remains blind in one eye and partially paralyzed. Source:
(Orange County Register;
09/29/98)
(1995 DFG Outdoor California)
19 October. Justin Mellon, 6, of Huntington
Beach, California, was snatched by a cougar from a trail in Caspers Regional
Park in California while hiking with companions. The lion took the boy's
head in its jaws and tried to drag him away before being scared off by
the boy's knife-wielding father. Justin required 100 stitches and now suffers
from mental injuries and emotional anxieties. Sources:
(Orange County Record;
09/29/98) (Gary Gerhardt; Rocky Mountain News; 09/23/90)
1987
(1 Report found)
19 April
. 31-year-old Linda Burt of Humble, Texas, was attacked
near noon by a cougar in Big Bend National Park, Texas. She was enjoying
an Easter weekend family outing. At first she ran from the lion, but
then fought back. She suffered minor injuries, and the 14-month-old male
lion was shot and found to be underweight. Sources:
(Big Bend National Park files)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
(Gary Gerhardt;
Rocky Mountain News; 09/23/90)
1988
(3 Reports found, including one death in British
Columbia)
16 May
. Jesse
Sky Bergman, 9, was killed by a 4-year-old male cougar near Tofino, British Columbia.
He had gone to visit his father about eight kilometres north of Tofino.
His body was found badly mauled about the head. Paw prints indicated the
cat had stalked him. Sources:
(British Columbia Newspaper Awards)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
28 May. A 6-year-old girl (Fuller) was attacked by a 18-month-old
cougar in Payson, Arizona. She was in a group of children within adult earshot,
and she fought back. The cougar was shot and found to be below normal weight.
Sources: (Arizona Republic 06/09/1988)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
25 June. A couple with a small son chased in Cuyamaca Rancho
State Park in California. See this non-injury report HERE
1989
(3 Reports found including 1 death)
11 January
. A 28-year-old man (Lucas) was attacked at about 10:00 p.m.
by a by a 2-year-old female lion at Tofino, British Columbia, on Vancouver
Island. The lion was shot and found to be underweight.
Sources: (The Vancouver Province; 01/13/1989)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
29 April. At about 7:00 p.m.,
Joshua Walsh, age 5, was mauled by a mountain lion near Canyon Lake,
some 30 miles northeast of Phoenix.
Without warning, and near a parking lot and boat dock filled with people,
the mountain lion attacked Joshua, bit him on the head and began to shake
him with its jaws and drag him away. Tim Walsh, Joshua's father, leaped down
a 20-foot embankment, grabbed a rock, threw it and hit the lion on the head,
scaring it. The lion dropped the boy. Joshua was air-lifted to Phoenix
Children's Hospital where it took 100 stitches to close Joshua's head wounds,
including re-attachment of his right ear which was nearly severed in the
attack. Sources: (Phoenix Gazette, May 1, 1989, page A-1)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
(Abundant Wildlife Society Of North America;
Mountain Lion Fact Sheet
by T. R. Mader, Research Director)
9 September. At
least two and possibly three mountain lions attacked and killed 5-year-old
Jake Thomas Gardipee of Missoula County, (Evaro) Montana,
while he was riding a tricycle behind his home. Trapper, Francis
Cahoon said Jake could have been killed by a female lion traveling with
cubs or by a pair of yearling siblings. Searchers scared off an adult
mountain lion when they found the boy's body. Another 52-pound yearling
with blood on its paws and mouth was killed 100 yards away. Cahoon
said that all they knew is that the cat killed was not the only cat that
attacked Jake. Sources: (Deborah Frazier;
ASSOCIATED PRESS;
09/13/89; 07/27/90)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
1990
(4 Reports found)
02 June
. At about 6:00 p.m. a 28-year-old woman (Walters) jogging in
Four Mile Canyon west of Boulder, Colorado, was confronted by two aggressive
mountain lions. Initially, she stood her ground, shouted, and waved her
arms, but when the 2 cougars continued to approach her, she scrambled up
an embankment and climbed a tree. The cougars climbed after her, and the
larger cougar raked the back of her leg with its claws. The terrified woman
struck one animal with her foot and the other on the head with a branch. The
cougars then left the tree and abandoned the site shortly afterward.
Sources: (Colorado Division of Wildlife files)
(Gary Gerhardt; Rocky Mountain News; 09/23/90)
(Cougar Attacks on Humans in the United States And Canada; Paul Beier; 1991)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
July. A Montana state game warden stalked.
See this non-injury report
HERE
26 July. 9-year-old Scott O'Hare, of Dayton,
Wyoming, was mauled in Glacier National Park, Montana, 50 miles northeast
of Kalispell at about noon by a young female cat, who authorities said made
an unprovoked attack. Park rangers tracked and killed the animal less than 100
yards from where the incident happened. The boy was flown to the hospital where
he underwent surgery for deep cuts and puncture wounds in his head, face,
neck and right arm. His parents filed a claim for $1 million against
the National Park Service the following year. Sources:
(Associated Press;
Rocky Mountain News; 11/23/91)
(Gary Gerhardt;
Rocky Mountain News; 09/23/90)
(Paul Beier's Table; 1991)
27 July. Father shoots lion threatening 4-year-old west of
Boulder, Colorado.
See this non-injury report
HERE
[1991-2000 attacks]
[2001-Now attacks]
[Other Incidents]
This page by Linda Lewis contains updates and retain
some expanded attack accounts
for Mountain
Lion Attacks On People in the U.S. and Canada by Thomas Jay Chester
If you know of an attack not listed here, please email
me or Tom Chester.
Permission freely granted to reference or even reproduce this page
as long as links remains intact
which credit all sources and Tom Chester at http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks.html
As his was the rare and comprehensive research I found for multiple
lion attacks in North America
Return to
Lion Attacks Introduction and Table of Contents