NATHROP, Colo. - Wildlife officials said Monday they are looking for a mountain lion that clawed a man's head while he was sitting in a hot tub with his wife in a rental home in central Colorado.
The man was soaking in the in-ground hot tub in a wooded subdivision west of Nathrop on Saturday night when he felt something grab his head, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He screamed at the mountain lion and started splashing water while his wife pointed out a flashlight at the animal.
Authorities said it retreated to the top of a hill and continued to watch the couple.
The man and his wife were able to get back into the home, where they cleaned his wounds and called the property owner who happened to work for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The man had four superficial scratches on his head and near his right earlobe, but he refused medical treatment.
Sean Shepherd, area wildlife manager in Salida said that the mountain lion may have seen the man's head move in the dark at ground level but didn't recognize the people in the hot tub. The couple did the right thing by making noise and shining a light on the lion. State wildlife officers immediately began searching for the big cat along a steep ridge near a creek but couldn't find any tracks in the frozen snow. They set a trap nearby and will continue to monitor mountain lion activity near Nathrop, a mountainous area known for its outdoor activities.
Saturday night was the first reported mountain lion attack on a person in Colorado since February 2022. Wildlife officials say that at least 27 people have been injured in mountain lion attacks in Colorado since 1990, three of which were fatally injured.