WDFW Reports Cougar Attack On 5 Bicyclers Near 2018 Lion Fatality

UPDATE, 9:10 A.M, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2024: WDFW reports that a houndsman was unable to find a second reported cougar yesterday afternoon. The agency also used the word subadult to describe the cougar that was lethally removed by game wardens; a subadult means a cougar 24 months old or less.

A 60-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after a cougar attack on a group of bicyclists in Western Washington’s upper Snoqualmie Valley today and state game wardens lethally removed at least one cougar in the area, reports say.

The incident occurred near Tokul Creek and involved five bikers and apparently two cougars, according to KING 5.

According to Living Snoqualmie, the King County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the group that they were being stalked and after the female cyclist was attacked, other bikers pinned down one of the cougars, initially described as a six-month-old cub, but the other big cat fled into the forest.

WDFW reports that a hound handler had been tasked with locating it.

Tokul Creek is not far from where bicyclist SJ Brooks was killed by a cougar in 2018, the first person to be killed in Washington by a cougar in 100 years. The animal also injured Brooks’ friend and was ultimately lethally removed.

A post-attack exam of that cougar “revealed no abnormalities that might have contributed to the animal’s unusual behavior.”

In 2022, a 9-year-old girl was attacked by a cougar in Northeast Washington and survived.

WDFW says that people should avoid the area around Tokul Creek for the time being.