Mountain lion injures 1 as rafters fight off attack with paddles along Arizona river
Gila County officials are urging caution after last week’s attack in a remote area of the White Mountain Apache Reservation.
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SALT RIVER, Ariz. – A group of rafters in Arizona had to use their paddles in a fight for their lives against a mountain lion.
Gila County officials are urging caution after last week’s attack in a remote area of the White Mountain Apache Reservation.
The attack occurred "21 miles downstream from the Salt River bridge, on the White Mountain Apache Nation – which is the north side of the Salt River – in an especially remote area," Gila County Animal Care & Control Program Manager JC Castaneda said.
MOUNTAIN LION ATTACKS MAN SITTING IN COLORADO HOT TUB
FILE – A mountain lion is seen in the mountains of Montana.
(Dennis Fast / VWPics / Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
A 64-year-old New Mexico resident, who was injured in the attack on March 16, is still very sore but expected to survive, Castaneda added.
As the lion attacked the victim, 10 other rafters attempted to fight it off using their rafting paddles. Eventually, they kept the lion at bay while other campers headed to safety on their rafts.
Castaneda said the White Mountain Apache Tribe sent a group of U.S. Department of Agriculture hunters with hound dogs who followed lion tracks from the location of the attack to another area, where they are currently trying to locate the lion.
As of Monday, officials had not found it.
Castaneda said it is crucial for people to take additional precautions, such as avoiding wildlife and other unknown animals that may have been previously exposed to rabies. He also reminds everyone to refrain from feeding wild animals.