LOS ANGELES — If hikers, bikers, campers, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts haven’t encountered a mountain lion in the California wilderness, they may know someone who has.
The big cats, which can weigh more than 150 pounds (68 kg), live in diverse habitats across the state, including inland forests, coastal chaparral, foothills and mountains. It is not uncommon to spot a mountain lion near a trail, in a park or even in a backyard as they hunt for prey such as deer, raccoons, coyotes and occasionally pets.
But attacks on people – like the one that recently killed a man and seriously injured his brother – are rare. The mauling last weekend was the state’s first fatal encounter with a mountain lion in two decades.
According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, there have been fewer than 50 confirmed attacks on humans in California since 1890, with only six resulting in death. Although the prospect of attacks on humans is frightening, humans kill far more cougars than the other way around.
Taylen Robert Claude Brooks, 21, was killed Saturday in a remote area northeast of Sacramento. His 18-year-old brother, Wyatt Jay Charles Brooks, survived the attack and is expected to recover after multiple surgeries.
Their family said the brothers from rural Mount Aukum were hunting for antlers when they spotted the mountain lion along the edge of a dirt road in El Dorado County. As they grew up, the young men raised their hands to appear bigger, screamed and threw a backpack at the lion in an attempt to scare it away, a family statement said.
Instead of retreating, the cougar charged and took the younger brother to the ground by his face.
“While Taylen was freaking out and yelling at the lion, Wyatt was able to wrestle the lion to the ground with him on top of the lion. The lion began clawing at Wyatt’s stomach, causing Wyatt to release his grip. At that point, the lion released Wyatt, stood up and attacked Taylen, biting Taylen in the throat and knocking Taylen to the ground,” the statement said.
With his face badly torn, Wyatt Brooks continued to punch the big cat in a vain attempt to get him to release his older brother. He eventually ran back to their car to find cell service and call 911.
The previous fatal encounter with a cougar occurred in 2004 in Orange County, according to a verified list kept by the wildlife department.
Last year, a mountain lion jumped a 5-year-old boy as he ran ahead of his family on a coastal hiking trail near Half Moon Bay. The big cat pinned the boy to the ground but did not bite him, and ran away when the child’s mother attacked the animal. In September 2022, a 7-year-old boy escaped serious injury after being bitten by a mountain lion while walking with his father in a park near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles.
On the coast in Washington state last month, a woman was riding with a group on a bike path when she was attacked by a mountain lion. The woman and her friends were able to fend off the animal, but she suffered injuries to her face and neck.
Meanwhile, mountain lion deaths on California roadways are a common occurrence and are being monitored as part of a two-decade study of the animals by the National Park Service.
In January, a female mountain lion, named F-312 by researchers, died after she was struck by a vehicle while trying to cross the same Orange County highway where one of her cubs was killed.
Scientists have been studying the lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California since 2002 to determine how they survive in a fragmented and urbanized environment.
The best-known cougar in the study, which became something of an unofficial Los Angeles mascot, was P-22. After crossing two heavily trafficked highways and making its home in LA’s urban Griffith Park – home to the Hollywood Sign – the P-22 became a symbol for California’s endangered mountain lions and their declining genetic diversity.
The P-22’s journey inspired a wildlife crossing on a highway in the Los Angeles area, allowing big cats and other animals to find safe passage between the mountains and the wilderness of the north. The bridge is currently under construction. P-22 was euthanized in December 2022 after sustaining injuries possibly caused by a car.