Firefighters Called Out To Rescue Mountain Lion From Tree

Firefighters from Hesperia, were called out to reports of a mountain lion stuck 50ft up a tree. The cat was spotted by a local resident, who decided to, sensibly, call in some help.

Animal handlers were also called to the scene to deal with the big cat, which had been tranqulised before it could be rescued.

Firefighters had to prop a ladder up against the tree, climb it, put a harness on the now sedated mountain lion, and then help to lower it safely to ground.

Wildlife warden Rick Fischer said: "Leaving the lion in the tree would not have been safe for the community.

"Once the lion regained consciousness, we ensured he safely returned to his suitable habitat."

So that's good.

Explaining how the cat ended up in a residential area, fish and wildlife biologist Kevin Brennan added: "It is common for young mountain lions to wander outside what some would consider normal habitat in an attempt to establish their territory."

Thirty-one-year old Travis Kauffman was out running in Colorado when the lion pounced him, leaving him with no options to fight for his life.

"And that's when kind of my fear response turned into more of a fight response.

"Because I'm a recent cat owner, I know that the back claws are pretty dangerous when it comes down to an attack. And I was pretty worried about its claws just sinking into my stomach and groin area.

"I was able to shift my weight and get a foot on its neck...I stepped on its neck with my right foot and just slowly after a few minutes I thought I would be getting close and then it would start thrashing again and I had a few more scratches that resulted from those thrashes at that point, and I'd say another couple minutes later it finally stopped moving."