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Mountain Lion No Match for Chain Saw

By MATTHEW BROWN

posted: 2 HOURS 48 MINUTES AGO

comments: 77

filed under: Animal News, National News

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BILLINGS, Mont. (July 17) - A Colorado man used a chain saw to fight off a mountain lion that attacked him during a camping trip with his wife and two toddlers in northwestern Wyoming.

The adult male lion, described as emaciated and showing other signs of starvation, was later killed by wildlife officials after it attacked a dog brought in to track it.

Dustin Britton, a 32-year-old mechanic and Marine veteran from Windsor, Colo., said he was alone cutting firewood about 100 feet from his campsite in the Shoshone National Forest when he saw the 100-pound lion staring at him from some bushes.

The 6-foot, 170-pound Britton said he raised his 18-inch chain saw and met the lion head-on as it pounced — a collision he described as feeling like a grown man running directly into him.

"It batted me three or four times with its front paws, and as quick as I hit it with that saw, it just turned away," he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Wildlife officials said Sunday evening's attack about 27 miles west of Cody was highly unusual because mountain lions are reclusive by nature. Only eight cases of mountain lions acting aggressively toward humans have been documented in Wyoming over the last decade.

Given the animal's low body weight — male lions in Wyoming typically weigh 140 to 150 pounds — it may have attacked Britton out of desperation, said Mark Bruscino, a Wyoming Fish and Game biologist who responded to the incident.

"Starvation is a strong motivator for any animal in chasing a meal," he said.

It was uncertain why it was starving. Britton's campsite, near the North Fork of the Shoshone River, was in an area heavily populated by the lion's typical prey — elk, deer and bighorn sheep.

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Officials suspect disease may have played a role in the attack.

The wounded animal retreated after Britton inflicted a six- to eight-inch gash on the lion's shoulder, leaving him with only a small puncture wound on his forearm.

"You would think if you hit an animal with a chain saw it would dig right in," he said. "I might as well have hit it with a hockey stick."

After the confrontation, Britton and his wife, Kirsta, decided to spend the night in their pop-up camper with their two children rather than risk packing up with the lion still on the loose.

Wildlife agents were called the next morning, after Britton told a passing U.S. Forest Service employee about the incident.

The family later carried on with their vacation, continuing to camp at sites in Wyoming and Montana.

Initial tests conducted on the lion for rabies and other diseases came up negative. Its carcass was taken to the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory in Laramie for further testing.

Bruscino, the state biologist, said mountain lions are known to inhabit the area where the attack occurred. They occasionally pass near campgrounds and other inhabited areas, but usually flee at the first sign of humans.

"It was acting completely out of character for how a lion would normally act around a full grown man who has a chain saw in his hand," he said.

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Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2009-07-17 12:01:12

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DONNAB1730

07:47 PMJul 17 2009

Who says he was cutting live trees down anyway? He could have been cutting fallen trees into firewood. People are so quick to jump on their bandwagons.... and as far as going into a place that has "wild animals"....your chances of getting attacked by a wild animal are nil compared to dying in an automobile accident. Maybe we should all walk our 20 miles to work!

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BvrlyFs

07:46 PMJul 17 2009

AWhitecastle the kids were not with him. He was alone cutting fire wood. We take our kids camping and they love it, so do we. We like nature and camp, fish, and swim all the time in the summer. Why don't you try it sometime, it is great for the kids to learn about nature.

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JBJG24M

07:46 PMJul 17 2009

I HATE CAMPING !

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GN5100

07:41 PMJul 17 2009

I wonder if a chainsaw would help me fend off the ravenous politicians who are determined to devour my income through higher taxes for Pres. Sambo's power-grabbing political delusions.

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Ggnutts

07:30 PMJul 17 2009

Awhitecastle, people have as much righ t 2 go into the woods as the animals who live there do. do you think people always have lived in nice little houses in subdivisions??? get a grip!!!!!!!

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Nicknbaye

07:29 PMJul 17 2009

PM0501 05:23 PMJul 17 2009. This is why it should be legal to carry handguns on National Park Service Property!A bill pasted with in the past few months. That had a add on, clause, what ever its called to get the other side (Rep. & Dem.) to pass each others crap. But yes the bill pasted and it is or will be legal to carry fire arms in National Parks.

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Joliemarot

07:29 PMJul 17 2009

Another moron who takes toddlers into wild animal country and runs into a wild animal- 'who would a thunk it--duh"- just kill it-that is mans answer to everything-kill kill killl--disgusting bi-peds.

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Gilfaethwy

07:22 PMJul 17 2009

Find some other venue for your drivel, Sfjcasti; or are you so ill-witted to forget that in this culture your message is a constant and if anyone wants to buy into it they can do so without being berated online with the same repetitive noise accompanied with awful grammar, awful spelling and awful appreciation of others' faiths.

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TR120R

07:19 PMJul 17 2009

The once powerful lion was now becoming old and weak with starvation.Its probably the best thing that could happened to it; being shot by park rangers. Still sad, even though its suffering has ended. They are fine tuned machines of mother nature.

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Awhitecastle

07:18 PMJul 17 2009

WHY DO PEOPLE GO TO PLACES LIKE THAT , THERE ARE WILD ANIMALS AND THEY ATTACK, AND WHY WOULD U EVEN TAKE A FAMILY OF TODDLERS THERE TOO, THIS IS RIDICULOUS. THOSE POOR KIDS THAT WERE THERE WHILE THEIR DAD WAS ATTACKED BY A MOUNTAIN LION. WOW, IF THE GUY IS NOT SCARED OF THE MOUNTAIN LION OR HE DOES NOT CARE , AT LEAST HINK OF THOSE KIDS THAT U R GOING TO RAISE AND SPECIALLY IF THEY ARE TODDLERS, TAKE THEM FAMILY ORIENTED ENVIORNMENTS WHERE THERE ARE NO WILD ANIMALS.

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