Mountain lion clawed a man's head while he was relaxing in a hot tub with his wife at a rental home in Colorado
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- A mountain lion clawed a man's head while he was relaxing in a hot tub at a Colorado rental home.
- His wife threw water at the animal and shone a flashlight at its face to make it retreat.
- The man was left with scratches on his head but declined medical treatment.
A mountain lion clawed a man in the head while he was relaxing in a hot tub with his wife at a Colorado rental home, wildlife officials said.
The victim told officers that he was sitting in the hot tub on the grounds of a rental property near Nathrop in central Colorado when he felt something grab his head at around 8 p.m.
He and his wife started to scream and began splashing water at the animal, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), which responded to the incident on Saturday night.
The victim's wife then grabbed a flashlight and shone it at the creature, which they were able to identify as a mountain lion.
The bright light caused the animal to retreat, with it retreating further as the couple yelled at it. But the lion continued to watch the couple from the top of a hill, CPW said.
The couple then returned to their rental house, where they cleaned up the wounds. The injuries were consistent with claw marks, the CPW said.
The victim refused medical assistance, per CPW.
"We think it's likely the mountain lion saw the man's head move in the darkness at ground level but didn't recognize the people in the hot tub," said Sean Shepherd, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife area manager.
"The couple did the right thing by making noise and shining a light on the lion," he added.
Wildlife officers were unable to locate the animal, but set a trap and will continue to monitor mountain lion activity in the area, per CPW.
The incident is the first mountain lion attack on a human in Colorado since February 27, 2022, CPW said.
There have been 24 known attacks by mountain lions that caused human injury in the state since 1990.