Aggressive mountain lion behavior closes Deer Creek Canyon Park indefinitely
Colorado hikers are being alerted to a mountain lion showing abnormal behavior towards humans. Jefferson County closed Deer Creek Canyon Park on Saturday morning because of the investigation.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife received reports of a mountain lion on a trail and did not run away from hikers. They say this is strange behavior for a mountain lion .
They added that they had a report from Friday and similar reports from two weeks ago.
Jeffco Open Space says access to the Black Bear Trail at Hildebrand Ranch Park is also closed.
It is unclear when the park will be reopened.
Although no humans were injured, the closure was put in place as a preventive security measure while the situation is investigated.
Generally, mountain lions are rarely seen by humans and, when spotted, quickly flee the scene. However, the more daring a lion becomes, the more likely it is that the animal will consider a person as prey. This can be particularly dangerous for children and pets.
The Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) is a large cat in the Felinae subfamily. It is native to the Americas. Its range extends from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America, and is the widest of any large wild land mammal in the western hemisphere. It is an adaptable and generalist species, occurring in most types of American habitats. Due to its vast extension, it has many names, including mountain lion, puma, panther, jaguar, puma.
