• A woman was killed following a rare attack on a hiking trail
• Two suspected lions were dealt with according to public safety policies

A woman was killed in Colorado following a rare attack suspected to have been carried out by a mountain lion while she was walking on a hiking trail, in an incident that could be recorded as the first death of this kind in the state in decades if the details are confirmed.

State wildlife officials reported that two large lions suspected of being involved in the New Year’s Day attack were dealt with according to established policies to ensure public safety.

The spokeswoman for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department, Kara Van House, explained that hikers on the Crosier Mountain Trail in Larimer County noticed a mountain lion near the victim, who was lying on the ground at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday.

She added: “When they approached, they tried to scare the lion by throwing stones until it moved away. One of the witnesses was a doctor, and no pulse was found on the victim.”

Teams from wildlife officials, county police, park police, and volunteer firefighters began extensive search operations, joined by a state wildlife biologist conducting an annual aerial survey of deer by helicopter.

Van House explained that authorities also called in hunting teams to bring in dogs to track the lion, which is an effective method to determine its location.

Gunfire was used on one of the lions on-site, but it fled and died after being shot again. No second lion near the scene was killed, in accordance with state policy requiring the killing of any animal involved in human attacks to ensure public safety.

Van House pointed out that mountain lions are known to be very territorial, making it likely that only a single lion was behind the attack.

Experts will perform necropsy tests on the animals to check for neurological diseases such as rabies or traces of human DNA.

The county medical examiner will announce the identity of the victim and the cause of death.

Van House emphasized the rarity of mountain lion attacks, noting that since 1990 only 28 incidents have been recorded in Colorado, with the last death occurring in 1999.

She added that sightings of these animals increase in winter as they follow deer and elk to lower areas, and advised hikers to make loud noises and raise objects above their heads to appear larger, and to gradually retreat if encountering a lion.

Colorado is home to between 3,800 and 4,400 mountain lions, excluding cubs, and these animals are considered one of the most widely distributed species in the Americas after humans, ranging from western Canada to Argentina.

Their numbers have increased since 1965 thanks to wildlife management policies.