Cougar attack in California
AGCHAWK
1/25/07 7:44pm
I just read this about an hour ago on the AP news wire. The first thing I thought about where the HUGE cats in the post entitled "Huge cougar pic". I'm quite sure that the cat in question wasn't as big as the ones in that thread or this wouldn't have had the same ending.
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SAN FRANCISCO - Wildlife officials on Thursday credited a woman with saving her husband's life by clubbing a mountain lion that attacked him while the couple were hiking in a California state park.
Jim and Nell Hamm, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month, were hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park when the lion pounced.
"He didn't scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground," Nell Hamm said in an interview from the hospital where her husband was recovering from a torn scalp, puncture wounds and other injuries.
After the attack, game wardens closed the park about 320 miles north of San Francisco and released hounds to track the lion. They later shot and killed a pair of lions found near the trail where the attack happened.
The carcasses were flown to a state forensics lab to determine if either animal mauled the man.
Although the Hamms are experienced hikers, neither had seen a mountain lion before Jim Hamm was mauled, his wife said. Nell Hamm said she grabbed a four-inch-wide log and beat the animal with it, but it would not release its hold on her husband's head.
"Jim was talking to me all through this, and he said, 'I've got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,'" she said. "So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn't want to go in as easy as I thought it would."
When the pen bent and became useless, Nell Hamm went back to using the log. The lion eventually let go and, with blood on its snout, stood staring at the woman. She screamed and waved the log until the animal walked away.
"She saved his life, there is no doubt about it," said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game.
Nell Hamm, 65, said she was scared to leave her dazed, bleeding husband alone, so the couple walked a quarter-mile to a trail head, where she gathered branches to protect them if more lions came around. They waited until a ranger came by and summoned help.
"My concern was to get Jim out of there," she said. "I told him, 'Get up, get up, walk,' and he did."
Jim Hamm, 70, was in fair condition Thursday. He had to have his lips stitched back together and underwent surgery for lacerations on his head and body. He told his wife he still wants to make the trip to New Zealand they planned for their anniversary, she said.
Nell Hamm warned people never to hike in the backcountry alone. Park rangers told the couple if Jim Hamm had been alone, he probably would not have survived.
"We fought harder than we ever have to save his life, and we fought together," she said.
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SAN FRANCISCO - Wildlife officials on Thursday credited a woman with saving her husband's life by clubbing a mountain lion that attacked him while the couple were hiking in a California state park.
Jim and Nell Hamm, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month, were hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park when the lion pounced.
"He didn't scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground," Nell Hamm said in an interview from the hospital where her husband was recovering from a torn scalp, puncture wounds and other injuries.
After the attack, game wardens closed the park about 320 miles north of San Francisco and released hounds to track the lion. They later shot and killed a pair of lions found near the trail where the attack happened.
The carcasses were flown to a state forensics lab to determine if either animal mauled the man.
Although the Hamms are experienced hikers, neither had seen a mountain lion before Jim Hamm was mauled, his wife said. Nell Hamm said she grabbed a four-inch-wide log and beat the animal with it, but it would not release its hold on her husband's head.
"Jim was talking to me all through this, and he said, 'I've got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,'" she said. "So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn't want to go in as easy as I thought it would."
When the pen bent and became useless, Nell Hamm went back to using the log. The lion eventually let go and, with blood on its snout, stood staring at the woman. She screamed and waved the log until the animal walked away.
"She saved his life, there is no doubt about it," said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game.
Nell Hamm, 65, said she was scared to leave her dazed, bleeding husband alone, so the couple walked a quarter-mile to a trail head, where she gathered branches to protect them if more lions came around. They waited until a ranger came by and summoned help.
"My concern was to get Jim out of there," she said. "I told him, 'Get up, get up, walk,' and he did."
Jim Hamm, 70, was in fair condition Thursday. He had to have his lips stitched back together and underwent surgery for lacerations on his head and body. He told his wife he still wants to make the trip to New Zealand they planned for their anniversary, she said.
Nell Hamm warned people never to hike in the backcountry alone. Park rangers told the couple if Jim Hamm had been alone, he probably would not have survived.
"We fought harder than we ever have to save his life, and we fought together," she said.
6,476
Attacks happen way to often IMO!
When they take away the only real "check" when it comes to population control while at the same time continueing to encrouch on, tear down, build on, and destroy the animal's natural habitat then this stuff is bound to happen.
More predators means more territory and more prey is needed. Well as the cat population continues to grow they only have one choice...adapt to OUR environment and look for new prey.
Heck if I was a predator and I had a choice between an elk/deer with sharp antlers, knife-like hooves, and speed like a small car or a human with no claws, antlers, slow as heck, and soft and pink to boot I think I'd be makin' the same choice.
You all may disagree with me but I feel sorry for the animal, not the humans. They are venturing into the cat's territory and the cat after all is just "acting like a cat". Unless we are allowed to keep the population under control the cats have no choice. As for the humans, when you venture into an animal's "home" be prepared, know your surroundings, keep your head on a swivel, and don't be surprised when a wild animal acts like it's programmed to act. It's not the cat's fault it's been put into this situation....
You make a good point. I hadn't thought of it like that before.
I had heard that the state of california is spending a bunch of money to control the cougar population. as compaired to the past when they colocted money from the hunting tags that they used to sell. Funny thing is you didn't hear of cougars attacking people back then either. :-k
They can't see the forest through the trees!
I don't mean to drag this on but this is one of those subjects that really gets my blood boiling. If a predator is sneakin' into town and killin' folks then of course, it needs to be put down. However, how can anyone possibly blame a wild animal for attacking something it perceives as either food or threat in the wild? Isn't it the individual's responsibility to know what his/her surroundings contain and act accordingly? If you want to hike or camp in bear or cat country then that is your choice (Heck, most of us do it on a regular basis) but don't cry to me when something happens.
I told my wife once that "If I am ever attacked by a bear or cougar, the last thing I want is for the game department to hunt the animal down and kill it." You can't blame an animal for acting like an animal any more than we can kill the local mail carrier because he acts like a mail carrier.
As for the issues in California and elsewhere regarding the cat population. If you allow them to pro-create unchecked and don't regulate thier numbers and then at the same time take more and more habitat away from them what do you expect the cats to do? Become tree-huggin' vegetarians? Maybe start frequenting the local coffeehouse? For some reason I don't see that happening.
Again, sorry for the rant. I just wish some folks would wake up and smell the coffee. I am now OFFICIALLY off my soapbox.
Mountain lion victim's condition worsens
SAN FRANCISCO - An elderly hiker who was attacked by a mountain lion last week was rushed into surgery when his condition worsened over the weekend.
Jim Hamm, 70, was back in the intensive care unit Sunday at Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata, awaiting an airlift to a larger hospital in San Francisco, a hospital spokesman said.
Hamm's condition worsened from fair to serious on Saturday and doctors performed emergency surgery to clean a wound in his scalp.
Hamm first underwent surgery Wednesday after a female mountain lion ambushed him at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. He and his wife, Nell, were hiking when the lion scalped him, mauled his face, ripped off part of his lips and inflicted other puncture wounds and scratches.
Hospital spokesman Tom Ayotte said moving Hamm to a research hospital with more doctors and sophisticated equipment was a precautionary measure.
Hamm's wife, Nell, 65, smashed the cat in the snout with a large branch and stabbed it with a pen to fend off the attack. After the attack, game wardens closed the park and shot and killed a pair of lions. Researches identified the female as the attacker.