In a rare and shocking incident, a woman was killed by a mountain lion attack in Colorado on Thursday.
As reported by NBC News, hikers informed authorities that they saw a mountain lion near a lying person at around 12:15 p.m. on the Crosier Mountain trail in unincorporated Larimer County.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife revealed in a statement that the hikers scared the lion away by throwing rocks before attending to the woman.
One of the witnesses was a doctor and "did not find a pulse," said Kara Van Hoose, spokesperson with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The victim's identity and cause of death are yet to be officially revealed, with Colorado Parks and Wildlife investigating the death as a suspected mountain lion attack.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, along with Larimer County Sheriff deputies, Estes Park police and Glen Haven Area Volunteer firefighters, have launched a joint search for mountain lions.
Moreover, one mountain lion was located at the scene, but it ran away when officers shot it. Later, it was tracked and euthanised,.
A second mountain lion was found nearby shortly after and also euthanised. Colorado Parks and Wildlife policy mandates that wildlife involved in attacks on humans must be euthanised for public safety.
Pathologists will perform a necropsy on the mountain lions to check for abnormalities and neurological diseases like rabies and avian influenza.
They will also be tested for human DNA, and if the lions do not contain evidence of human DNA, a search will continue.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado are considered rare, with 28 previous attacks reported to the agency since 1990.
The last fatal attack took place in 1999, 27 years ago.
