Authorities confirmed Friday that a mountain lion killed 35-year-old cyclist Mark Reynolds, whose body was found shortly after another cougar attack along a popular trail in the rugged Orange County foothills.
It is the sixth fatal mauling of a human by a mountain lion in California and the first since 1994.
Deputies said Thursday night that they shot and killed the 110-pound mountain lion responsible for the attacks, but on Friday they weren't taking any chances. For now, they will shoot to kill any mountain lion they encounter near the trail, Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, will remain closed indefinitely.
By Friday morning, investigators believed they knew how the attack unfolded. About noon Thursday, the chain broke on Reynolds' bike, putting the Foothill Ranch cyclist near a stalking mountain lion. Authorities said Friday that when Reynolds crouched to fix his bike, he assumed a posture that probably spurred the lion to attack.
The lion dragged him off the trail, and Reynolds' body went undetected until late Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
Thursday afternoon, the cougar, protective of its now partially buried prey, mauled another passing biker. Anne Hjelle, 30, of south Orange County was rescued by her riding companion and other trail bikers as she was being dragged by the head into the brush. She remains hospitalized in serious condition.
With the help of trackers in helicopters using infrared scopes, two Orange County sheriff's deputies shot and killed an apparently healthy, 110-pound, 2-year-old male mountain lion late Thursday. Its paw prints matched those near the scene of the attacks, officials said.
Later Thursday night, a 70-pound female lion was killed by a car about four miles away, but officials do not believe that animal was involved in the attacks.
Wildlife experts estimate that there are 4,000 to 6,000 adult mountain lions in California, including about half a dozen in the Whiting Ranch park area. Attacks, though, are rare. Reynolds is the first fatality in Orange County.
"Often [cougars] are reclusive and don't want to be seen," said Doug Updike, a senior wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. "It's very abnormal behavior. You're more likely to be struck by lightning" than attacked by a mountain lion.
