A 19-year-old man in Arroyo Grande, California had a mysterious encounter final week whereas filth biking. He says a mountain lion jumped from a tree and swatted at him, however officers declare it was a domesticated home cat. So, what occurred, and why would officers deny this teen’s declare {that a} mountain lion attacked him whereas filth biking?
The San Luis Obispo County Tribune first reported the story, asserting that it was truly a home cat that pounced on the unidentified teen. The Tribune makes this assertion primarily based on the outcomes from a DNA pattern despatched to the California’s Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife Forensic Laboratory. However, complicating issues, the teenager has pet cats at residence. May the home cat DNA have been from his pets?
The Assault Story
Right here’s the mountain-lion assault story from the filth biker’s view.
The younger man was using his filth bike on July 3 when he noticed what he described to The Tribune as an animal the scale of a giant canine “drop from the tree.” He says the animal barely missed him as he handed the tree at about 20 mph. After briefly glimpsing the big animal, he grabbed the throttle to get out of the realm, however “one thing grabbed his helmet and ripped him again,” the Tribune reviews primarily based on an interview with the teenager.
“I used to be virtually knocked down,” he advised the information outlet.
Scared, the teenager rode away rapidly, with out wanting again. The younger man says he did return to the realm later to research. “There was nothing I might have hit my head on, no tree had fallen,” he advised The Tribune.
The Aftermath
After the incident, the teenager reported being sore, particularly in his neck, and that he suffered “a minor concussion.” However right here’s the place issues get actually bizarre. After reporting the incident to wildlife officers, Fish and Wildlife collected samples from the teenager’s helmet and garments. They despatched away the samples and received just one factor again: home cat DNA.
The teenager, whose father requested that his son stays nameless, suggests there was no mountain lion DNA on him as a result of the animal by no means absolutely latched onto him. Somewhat, he says it simply grazed him. The pressure was sufficient to jerk him again however not sufficient to knock him off his bike.
It’s doable nobody will ever know what actually occurred, but it surely’s laborious to imagine {that a} 19-year-old particular person wouldn’t have the ability to inform a home cat from a mountain lion. On the similar time, the teenager admits that every thing occurred so rapidly that he didn’t have a lot time to course of. His precedence was to get to security.
The teenager could not have the DNA proof to show it, however he now has a fairly wild story to inform his mates.
