BOULDER, Colorado – The Boulder Police Department of Boulder, Colorado, is warning the public to be aware of mountain lion activity following an attack involving a dog that occurred in North Boulder this weekend.
Residents were walking their small dog in the 2400 block of Balsam Avenue on Friday, July 25th, when a mountain lion suddenly appeared and jumped on their dog. Tragically the dog appeared to die instantly. The attacking animal did not threaten the residents and took the dog away.
The following day, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, multiple Boulder Police Animal Protection officers, and City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks Rangers responded to the same area to assess the situation after another sighting of the same mountain lion was reported.
It’s believed that the deceased dog or another deceased animal was cached by the mountain lion nearby for later consumption. That’s a common reason why a mountain lion would stay in a specific area for an extended period of time. After a near two hour period of monitoring and observing, the animal left its hiding place and disappeared. The dog’s remains were then recovered in a nearby backyard.
Boulder Police Mountain Lion Encounter Guidelines:
• Do not approach lions. Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give the lion a way to escape.
• Stay calm if you come upon a lion. Talk to it in a firm voice in an effort to demonstrate that you are human and not its regular prey.
• Back away slowly. Running may stimulate a lion’s instinct to chase and attack.
• Face the lion and make an effort to appear as large as possible. Open your jacket or lift objects to appear like a more formidable opponent. Pick up your children.
• If the lion behaves aggressively, throw rocks, sticks or whatever you can pick up, without turning your back to the lion or bending down.
• If the lion would happen to attack, fight back. Lions have been driven away by prey that fights back. Remain standing and keep attempting to get back up if you are brought to the ground.
