Cougar kills man in California, first fatal attack in 20 years

Los Angeles | A 21-year-old man was killed by a cougar in California, the first fatal attack in the western US state since 2004, according to local officials.

Dylan Brooks died Saturday after being mauled by a big cat living in the wilds of California, while his 18-year-old brother, Wyatt Brooks, was injured in the face, the county sheriff's office said on Facebook Monday. Mail.

The two brothers were walking along an unpaved road in Georgetown, northeastern California, looking for deer antlers, when a cougar, also known as a mountain lion, appeared.

“Taylon and Wyatt did what they were always taught, they put their hands in the air to make themselves look bigger” and yelled at the cat, causing Wyatt to throw his backpack at the animal and make him go away.

But instead, the cougar lunged at the two brothers and, after a struggle on the ground, managed to bite Taylon in the neck.

Wyatt, suffering from “serious injuries to his face,” left to make an emergency call.

A search was launched to find his brother and police found “a cougar crouching next to a person on the ground”.

Guns were fired into the sky to frighten the beast.

Once they were able to access it, officers discovered that “unfortunately, the individual was deceased.”

California Environmental Service officials and an El Dorado County engineer were dispatched to find the cougar. The cat was shot in a tree about 100 meters from where Taylon's body was found.

Not counting Saturday's tragedy, California officials have recorded 22 people attacked by cougars since 1986 and three deaths, the last being in 2004.

A “specially protected” species in California since 1990, the cougar can grow up to 170 cm long and weigh up to 75 kg.