Sheriff's deputy fights off mountain lion with bare hands

On Wednesday, a mountain lion attacked a resident in River Rim Road, Colorado before attacking a Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputy. The attacks took place in the afternoon around 2 pm local time. A witness captured the animal's attack on the deputy. The deputy fought off the wild animal with her bare hands. The big cat was eventually shot dead by a Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) game warden.

Larimer County Sheriff's Office was alerted of a mountain lion attack at River Rim Road on Wednesday. A resident had managed to escape the animal after it targeted the individual. The resident was taken to the hospital as the deputies and game wardens started their search for the animal.

The mountain lion took shelter at a trailer park off United States Highway 34. The search party found the animal hiding under a trailer. They shot at the cornered animal but did not manage to hit it.

Gregory Scot Paul, a resident of the trailer park, told the Coloradoan that the shots left bullet holes in the septic tank of the trailer. Paul recalled witnessing the ferocious animal jump out from under the trailer to attack the female deputy.

Before the big cat could bite the woman, she put her arms up in front of her. This prevented the animal from biting her neck. Instead, the animal latched onto the deputy's shoulder. Trailer park residents recorded the deputy wrestling with the mountain lion to prevent it from biting her neck and face.

Another deputy kicked the animal, making it abandon the attack. Paul recounted that the mountain lion then crawled under another trailer before running out of the trailer park. Deputies took multiple shots at the animal but it did not stop the escape.

The mountain lion was tracked close to the Big Thompson River. Attacks on more people were avoided as a CPW game warden managed to fatally shoot the animal.

On Thursday, Sheriff Justin Smith posted on Facebook that the deputy attacked by the animal is recovering from her non-fatal wounds.