A group of cyclists in their 50s and 60s were forced to battle with a wild cougar when it jumped on their friend's face while they were on the Washington state trail last month.
The five cyclists had to wrestle with the mountain cat for 45 minutes trying to pry it off 60-year-old Keri Begere. They could only throw rocks and sticks and use their bare hands during the attack. The group recalled their harrowing struggle, which took place while they were north east of Fall City in Washington, according to reports.
The friends, who were all part of the Recycled Cycles Racing team, were just 19 miles into their biking trip when the cougar emerged and jumped at Keri. The big cat bit its teeth into Keri's jaw and tackled her into a shallow ditch just off the trail on February 17.
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Keri was left with noticeable facial injuries from the cougar attack (King5)Keri told radio station KUOW during an interview last Thursday: “I thought my teeth were coming loose, and I was gonna swallow my teeth. I could feel the bones crushing, and I could feel it tearing back. I felt like it was suffocating me. I could taste the blood in my mouth."
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The rest of the group then jumped into action and tried their best to get the male cougar to loosen its grip and prize it off of Keri while her face was being forced into the ground. One cyclist stabbed at the animal with a knife while another, 64-year-old Annie Bilotta, tried to choke the creature.
Annie told KUOW: “That was like choking a rock. It did absolutely nothing. I felt it shifting its teeth like it wanted to try to bite me too. I said ‘no, you’re not gonna get both of us.’” Annie said she then tried to pry the cougar's jaw open with her hand in an attempt to get it off her friend.
The male cougar was around one year old and weighed about 75 pounds (Getty Images)Then 59-year-old Auna Tietz dropped a 25-pound rock on the animal's head a number of times in an effort to stop it attacking Keri. And Keri herself was sticking her fingers up the cougar's nostrils and into its eyes while it was on top of her to try to get it off.
After 15 minutes the animal finally gave up and Keri was able to crawl away from it. Another cyclist in the group, Tisch Williams, 59, then grabbed 51-year-old Erica Wolf's $6,000 bike and used it to pin the animal down.
They kept the cougar pinned under the bike for 30 minutes while they waited for a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife police officer to arrived. The officer then shot the creature between the shoulder blades and killed it, according to KUOW.
Five cyclists wrestled with the wild cougar for nearly an hour to save their friend (Keri Bergere)Keri ended up in hospital in a stable condition but with clear facial injuries. She said: “All these ladies came up with superhuman strength. They’re teeny ladies, and I know that the Fish and Wildlife shot the final shot to kill it. But these ladies killed that cougar with their bare hands and no weapons. I’m eternally grateful to each one of them.”
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement that the male cougar was about one year old and weighed around 75 pounds. It didn't have rabies or any other diseases or issues that would lead to aggressive behaviour, according to the report.
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