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Colorado Investigates Suspected Mountain Lion Killing of Hiker on Crosier Mountain Trail

Necropsies with DNA testing will determine whether the euthanized mountain lions were involved.

Overview

  • Around 12:15 p.m. on Jan. 1, hikers saw a mountain lion near an adult woman on the Crosier Mountain Trail, drove it off with rocks, and a physician among them found no pulse.
  • Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers later located two mountain lions near the scene and euthanized them under agency policy for animals implicated in human attacks.
  • Authorities say it remains unknown whether one or multiple lions were involved, and they will keep searching if testing does not link the carcasses to the incident.
  • The Larimer County Coroner has not released the victim’s identity or the official cause of death.
  • If confirmed as a lion attack, the death would be Colorado’s first fatality since 1999; CPW has recorded 28 attacks since 1990 and estimates 3,800–4,400 mountain lions in the state.