GEORGETOWN, Calif. — An 18-year-old Northern California man who survived a mountain lion attack that killed his older brother is expected to recover, authorities said Sunday.
The 21-year-old's death on Saturday in a remote area northeast of Sacramento was the first fatal encounter with a cougar in the state in two decades.
The younger man called the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, reporting that he and his brother had been attacked while hunting for shed antlers near Georgetown, the office said in a statement Saturday.
Deputies arrived around 1:30 p.m. to find the younger man with facial injuries. Minutes later, they saw a crouched mountain lion next to the older brother on the ground, according to the statement.
The deputies fired their guns and scared off the big cat. The older brother died at the scene.
The surviving brother “has undergone multiple surgeries for his injuries and is expected to make a full recovery,” the sheriff's office said Sunday. “The family is grateful for the prayers and condolences from the community however wishes for privacy in order to process this tragic event."
El Dorado County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sgt. Kyle Parker said officials will likely release the men’s identities later this week.
“The family, they do appreciate the condolences and the prayers," he said. "However, they're just wishing currently for just some privacy in dealing with and processing this tragic event.”
He said it is unknown exactly what led up to the fatal attack.
"As tragic as this is, I don't know what could have been done differently to prevent it, and I won't make any sort of assumptions with that," Parker said.
The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office says they’re aware of multiple GoFundMe accounts claiming to support the family. The sheriff’s office says these accounts are not associated with the family and should be considered fraudulent. ABC10 is told an official GoFundMe account may be coming soon; that information will be shared when it is confirmed.
California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) said its wardens found the cougar and euthanized it Saturday.
"CDFW has confirmed that the mountain lion euthanized in a remote area near Georgetown yesterday was the same animal involved in a fatal attack earlier in the day," CDFW confirmed in a statement early Sunday evening. "DNA samples collected from the scene match samples taken from the lion carcass. The male mountain lion weighed approximately 90 pounds and appeared to be in healthy condition."
Mountain lions have attacked humans previously, but the last fatal encounter was in 2004 in Orange County, according to a verified list kept by the Fish and Wildlife Department. In El Dorado County, the most recent fatal attack was in 1994.
According to CDFW, “mountain lions are classified as a 'specially protected' species in California following the passage of The California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 (Proposition 117)… Statewide mountain lion population estimates are considered stable based on the best scientific knowledge, research, and methods available…Increased sightings and reports of mountain lions are likely due to the increased presence of home security cameras (e.g., ring doorbells), social media, and personal trail cameras often used for hunting, wildlife photography and leisure purposes.”
Mountain lions have not been hunted in California since 1972, though CDFW does allow for someone who has had property – like livestock – damaged or destroyed by a mountain lion to apply for something called a depredation permit. That allows someone to kill or capture a mountain lion and requires them to turn the cat or its body over to Fish and Wildlife. Starting in 2019, CDFW says, the department started issuing separate permits for “lethal take” – or killing the mountain lion - and “non-lethal take.” Prior to that, the permits were for lethal takes.
Counties with the most permits issued in the past decade include El Dorado, Nevada, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Amador and Placer. The most mountain lions reported killed in a year was in El Dorado County in 2015, where 21 were killed using a depredation permit. In most years and counties, however, fewer than five – and often no – mountain lions are killed. San Joaquin County, for example, had just two depredation permits issued between 2001 and 2022 and no reported kills or captures.
In the case of Saturday’s fatal attack, the department is allowed to remove or kill any mountain lion “that is perceived to be an imminent threat to public health or safety."
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