From today's Orange County Register...........


A 110-pound mountain lion that authorities believe killed one cyclist and mauled another was shot dead in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park late Thursday.


The death of the unidentified man, said to be in his 20s, is the first such fatality in Orange County history.


Deputies and a Department of Fish and Game ranger killed the cat with at least two shots after finding it 10 feet away from the man's body, which the animal had partially covered with dirt.


Although forensic tests must be done to determine whether the felled cat was responsible for the attacks, the shooting ended a terrifying night of heroism and bloodshed on a popular biking trail just a mile south of Santiago Canyon Road.


The surviving victim, Anne Hjelle, was saved by a friend who held onto her legs while the cougar bit down on her head and pulled in a fierce tug-of-war. A group of men pummeled the beast with rocks, finally forcing it to flee without its prey.

"Quoting the last four paragraphs of the article

The mountain lion is reclusive that typically doesn't want to be seen by humans. Capt. Steve Miller with the Orange County Fire Department said authorities were puzzled about what prompted this one to attack.

""Whenever you're in an area that has deer in the area, you are undoubtedly in mountain lion habitat,"" Miller said. But he added, ""It's still extremely rare to have a lion that identifies a human being as an item on their menu.""

Animal expert Jack Hanna told CNN he could only theorize that the lion may have been injured, prompting it to change its usual behavior. Whatever the reason, he said, the attack was an extremely rare event.

Mountain lions ""are very elusive,"" Hanna said. ""They don't want to see you any more than you want to see them.""

"

While hiking near Boulder, CO, about two years ago, a sign at one trailhead we hiked warned of mountain lions in the area. The detail on the sign claimed that in the entire history of the U.S., there were only nine confirmed deaths from mountain lion attacks.

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Fatal attacks might be rare, but non-fatal attacks might happen more often than we like. I think a jogger was attacked a few years ago in the same region. If one is conscious after the initial blow AND you have your wits about you, full-grown humans might have a fighting chance against a medium size cat.


This morning Matt Lauder (NBC?) interviewed the woman who held onto her friend’s legs while having a tug of war with the cougar. She recalled coming upon a couple of guys (MTB’er) who were calling to report a abandoned bike (from the male victim). They then continued their ride on the trail where her friend was attacked. She said the cougar pounced on her friend’s back and started to bite the helmet and head area. (Should a bite pressure test be included in the helmet safety standards?). When the 2 guys showed up because of their cries and screams. They were at a lost as what to do, so she told them to ""throw rocks"" at it. The cougar finally let go and ran away.

The Interviewee was still pretty shaken and ML commented on the remarkable act she did for her friend. He also mentioned the other two men were ""Heroes"" also.

The community held a candle light vigil for the other victim.
"

Note: This is a Cordon Bleu recipe, adapted by a Montenegrin chef who studied many years ago at the Ecole Cordon Bleu in Paris and then spent time in Siberia, where the predator game is Siberian Tiger and the problems of bike riders are similar to those on California backwoods trails. (Fortunately, there aren’t many cyclists in Siberia.) Measurements have been adapted from the metric system to the American pounds and ounces system, and obviously, cougar has to be substituted for Siberian tiger.

• One cougar
• One and 1/4 cups of good red wine. (Remember, garbage in, garbage out)
• 1/3 cup Saba (a bitteer-sweet Italian grape extract available in New York at Fairway)
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of good Cognac (Again, garbage in, garbage out)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Two tablespoons of tomato paste
• Two cloves of garlic, minced
• One half spoonful of bouquet garni, in a cheesecloth sack with string attached or in a tea bag with string attached (after the tea has been removed)
• Two large onions or three to three and a half medium onions
• 1 lb. peeled and sliced carrots
• Salt and sugar to taste, if needed to adjust the flavors

- Shoot or run over with a truck one cougar
- Remove approximately 2 lbs. of meat from the rump and or thighs and cube into 1-inch to 2-inch cubes. Freeze the rest for future use.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the cubed cougar on all sides in the olive oil
- Stir in Cognac and light with match. Allow Cognac to burn off.
- Sprinkle flour over meat and stir over a low flame until the flour is absorbed by the olive oil
- Add the wine, saba, tomato paste, onions, garlic, and bouquet garni.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes
- Remove bouquet garnet by yanking its string
- Add carrots
- Simmer another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After carrots become tender, taste sauce and add salt and/or sugar as necessary. Bouquet garnet left in the pot too long, and/or too much saba can make the sauce a trifle too bitter. A teaspoonful or so of sugar and remedy this, if necessary. Use only small amounts of salt to enhance flavor.
- Recipe is best when refrigerated and left to marinate overnight. Reheat and serve the next day.

Serves four cyclists after a ride, or up to eight normal people.