According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, a young mountain lion was euthanized after attacking an 11-year-old girl in a rural area southeast of Buena Vista on Wednesday evening.

The big cat swatted at the girl while she was checking on her chickens in the family coop. She discovered one chicken dead on the ground and opened the wooden hen house. At this point, the mountain lion struck her in the face, leaving her with a small puncture wound.

The girl was able to escape the scene and when wildlife officers responded, they found a sub-adult mountain lion – later determined to weigh about 30 pounds – still in the wire mesh coop.

The mountain lion was euthanized and its remains were sent to Fort Collins for examination. It appeared to be in good condition at the time of the attack.

“This was a small mountain lion probably just looking for an easy meal in the chicken coop,” said Sean Shepherd, Area Wildlife Manager based in Salida. Shepherd noted that it’s likely the young girl surprised the predator, resulting in a defensive attack. It does not seem like the animal was looking to prey on the girl, as it did not pursue her and there was not stalking involved.

Young mountain lions can be prone to attacking humans when desperate, as was the case with a mountain lion that attacked a trail runner near Fort Collins in 2019. That does not seem to be the case here.

This is the second mountain lion attack to take place in the Chaffee County area within weeks, with a man being attacked in nearby Nathrop in March. The man was soaking in an in-ground hot tub when he was clawed in the head by a mountain lion. That man was able to clean his own wounds and denied medical treatment.

Officials called these attacks unfortunate, but highly unusual. They indicated that they do not believe this is a pattern of attacks. Prior to the March attack, a mountain lion had not attacked a human since February 27, 2022.

Since 1990, 25 known attacks by mountain lions on humans in Colorado have occurred, three of which resulted in human deaths.

Attacks are rare but do happen. If you happen to encounter a mountain lion in the wild, scare it off by making noise and appearing big. Never turn and run, but slowly back away while facing the cat instead. If the mountain lion gets closer, throw items in the direction of the cat – without bending over to pick up objects. If attacked, fight back.

Report sightings to local wildlife officials.

STAY INFORMED: Get free Colorado news with our daily newsletter (Click here)