Wildlife officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) responded to a report of a mountain lion attack in Trinity County, CA, on May 16, 2022. The incident occurred at approximately 3:00 pm along State Route 299 near Big Bar.
A woman was driving on State Route 299 when she stopped beside the road near a picnic area and exited the vehicle with her dog. She began walking down a path with the dog slightly ahead of her. She noticed movement beside her as a mountain lion swiped her across her left shoulder, causing injury. She screamed and her dog, a Belgian Malinois, immediately returned and engaged the mountain lion. The mountain lion bit the dog’s head and would not let go. The woman attempted to throw rocks, tug and pull them apart, and even attempted to gouge the eyes out of the lion, to no avail.
The woman went back up to the road and flagged down a passing vehicle. A passerby stopped, retrieved a can of pepper spray, and sprayed the lion in the face with little to no effect. The mountain lion was attempting to move off the trail and drag the dog to a different location. The woman and the passerby eventually retrieved a piece of PVC pipe and began hitting the mountain lion with it until it finally released the dog.
The woman drove her dog straight to a veterinarian for emergency treatment. The dog’s condition is guarded, and it is unknown if she will survive. The woman then drove herself to receive medical treatment in Redding. Her injuries consist of bite wounds, scratches, bruises, and abrasions but are non-life-threatening.
Wildlife officers have interviewed the victim, the passerby, the veterinarian, and the emergency medical physician, and have worked with each of them to collect appropriate samples for analysis. The samples were delivered to the CDFW Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Sacramento and are being processed. Although DNA analysis from samples taken during the investigation is the most reliable way to conclusively prove an attack has occurred, initial evidence from the investigation is strong enough to allow wildlife officers to treat the investigation as a legitimate attack.
Those in the area should be aware that CDFW’s Law Enforcement Division is working with allied agency partners to trap the offending mountain lion and will further evaluate the situation if it is caught. As a reminder, people should always be vigilant when recreating in mountain lion habitats.
The woman, Erin Wilson, has set up a GoFundMe to help with the vet’s fees to save her dog.
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Hi my name is Erin, and i am fundraising for my Belgian Malinois vet bills after she saved my life.
on May 16th, at the white bar picnic area i was attacked by a mountain lion. It swiped at me, scratching my left shoulder. I yelled out for help from my dog Eva. She was only a few yards ahead of me and attacked the lion. They battled for a few moments until i heard her cry. The cat had her by the left side of her head. For the next several minutes i tried everything i could to free her. Eventually i ran to my vehicle for a weapon and flagged down assistance from a kind woman named Sharon. Together we beat at the cat while yelling until my dog was let go.
the trip to the vet was about an hour, and midway through Eva began convulsing for several minutes at a time. I didn’t think she’d make it every time it started up. Fortunately she pulled through and received urgent treatment. She is still not out of the woods, she is heavily sedated until we can be sure the pressure in her head is reduced. She has 2 fractures to her skull, a puncture into the sinus cavity and severe swelling around her left eye, which is impeding her vision. The vet is optimistic, she is 2.5 years old and is otherwise in top shape.
My dog is my hero and i owe her my life.
The wolves will be back in force in the next 5 years. They’re already showing up in Truckee. The Grizz will be coming in our lifetime. They’re showing up in Idaho, Washington, Montana and Wyoming and will soon be in Utah, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada. I honestly think its a good thing. Returning nature back to nature. It will keep a lot of the bay area snow flakes out of the backcountry.
Not many people in the lower 48 have experienced camping around grizzly bears and wolves. If you haven’t done it I encourage you to try.
I don’t have an opinion on that. Did you know that was an option?
Bring the Grizz back to CA for Wheezy.