Fatal suspected mountain lion attack happened weeks after another aggressive encounter

Weeks before a hiker was killed in a mountain lion attack in Colorado, a man was nearly attacked by another mountain lion on the same trail.

Gary Messina said he was attacked by a mountain lion while jogging on the same trail in northern Colorado on a dark November morning.

Messina said he threw his phone at the animal as it circled behind him, and was able to escape a few minutes later when he broke a stick from a log and hit the mountain lion in the head.

“I had to fight against it because he was basically trying to injure me,” Messina told The Associated Press. “I was afraid for my life and couldn’t run away. I tried to retreat and he tried to attack me.”

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A woman found dead on the same trail on New Year’s Day had “injuries consistent with a mountain lion attack,” a Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said.

“At approximately 12:15 this afternoon, hikers on the Crosier Mountain trail in Larimer County observed a mountain lion near a person lying on the ground approximately 100 yards away,” Kara Van Hoose said at a news conference Thursday. he said.

Following the suspected attack, wildlife officials killed two mountain lions and are searching for a third to determine whether the animal had rabies or another disease.

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The attack was the first fatal suspected mountain lion attack in more than 25 years, with the last occurring in 1999.

This photo provided by Gary Messina was taken in Glen Haven, Colo., on November 11, 2025. It shows a mountain lion in the bushes between two trees along the Crosier Mountain trailhead in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests near St. Louis. (Gary Messina via AP)

Messina said he reported the incident days later and authorities posted warning signs about the mountain lions, which were later taken down.

He said he believes the animal that attacked him may have been the same animal that killed the New Year’s marcher.

Mountain lion sightings are common in this region of the Rocky Mountains National Park, but the animals are rarely aggressive.

The New Year’s attack would be the fourth deadly attack in North America in the past decade and the 30th since 1868, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.

“As more people live, work and recreate in areas that overlap with wildlife habitat, interactions may increase—not because mountain lions are becoming more aggressive, but because the overlap is increasing,” said Byron Weckworth, the organization’s chief conservation officer. he said.

Authorities suspect a lone female hiker in Colorado was killed in a rare mountain lion attack on New Year’s Day. (AP Digital Placement)

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To avoid the risk of attack, experts tell nature seekers to avoid dawn and dusk, when mountain lions are most active, and to travel in groups.

Experts say that you should make eye contact with the animal during the encounter, try to look as big as possible, walk away slowly without turning your back to the animal, and avoid running.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.