Jogger hits mountain lion with a rock as it claws woman’s leg, Utah officials say

A woman running with a friend on a trail near Salt Lake City suffered two puncture wounds to her leg after startling a mountain lion, Utah wildlife officials reported.

The two women encountered the mountain lion around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, on the Pipeline Trail in Millcreek Canyon, the state Division of Wildlife Resources said in a news release.

“The woman tried to back away on the trail as the lion leaped at her, and she slipped and fell backward,” the release said.

The mountain lion’s claws left two puncture marks in her leg before her companion hit it with a rock, driving it away.

The woman who was attacked lost a shoe but the two women were able to escape down the trail and call 911, wildlife officials said. The mountain lion did not pursue them.

Wildlife officers used hounds to find the mountain lion and euthanized it, the release said. It is state policy to euthanize any wild animal that injures a human.

The woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition with a non-life-threatening injury, wildlife officials said.

“It is rare for cougars to attack people and our biologists feel the cougar was likely just startled and not seeking to prey on the woman,” the release said.

Wildlife officials advise people to never approach a mountain lion but instead back away slowly while talking in a loud, firm voice.

Millcreek is a city of about 64,000 people on the southeast edge of Salt Lake City.

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