[FEL-L] Mtn Lion attack followup

[Gary Breuckman]

Further analysis of one of the two mountain lions shot.



Mountain lion shot after attack had human blood on claws

Friday, January 26, 2007





(01-26) 15:08 PST Arcata, Calif. (AP) -- 


A female mountain lion that game wardens shot and killed after a 70-year-old 
man was mauled in a state park had human blood in her claws, state wildlife 
officials said Friday.


The lioness was one of two mountain lions, the other a male, that were 
hunted down in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park following the attack that 
severely injured Fortuna resident Jim Hamm on Wednesday.


Hamm was saved when his wife, Nell Hamm, 65, clubbed the lion with a stick 
as it pinned him to a hiking trail with his head clenched in its jaws. The 
lion eventually released him and the couple walked back to the head of the 
trail where a ranger called for help.


Officials conducted necropsies on the dead animals to make sure they got the 
lion that attacked Hamm and to find out if it had rabies, said Steve 
Martarano, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game.


Based on the results, they are confident the lion involved in the attack is 
not still roaming the park and that Hamm was not exposed to rabies, 
Martarano said. They also suspect the two young adult lions, which appeared 
to be between two and three years old, were siblings.


Hamm, who was partially scalped in the mauling and suffered deep cuts and 
puncture wounds all over his body, remained hospitalized in fair condition 
Friday, said Tom Ayotte, a spokesman for Mad River Community Hospital in 
Arcata.


The couple's ordeal and its comparatively happy ending have made the Hamms, 
who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Feb. 9, minor 
celebrities. They are scheduled to appear on the "Today" show Monday morning 
live from the hospital.