A mountain lion clawed a man sitting in an in-ground hot tub in Nathrop, Colorado, wildlife officials said.
The man told Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers that he felt something grab his head Saturday night when he and his wife were in the hot tub. The man said his wife began screaming and splashing water to scare the mountain lion away.
"They continued to scream at the mountain lion and after a short time it moved up to the top of a hill near some rocks where it crouched down and continued to watch the couple," Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement.
The couple was reportedly able to return to the rental house, where the man cleaned his injury.
The owner of the home, who happens to be a Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee, notified officers who immediately began searching for the mountain lion.
They were unable to locate the animal, but officials said a trap was set in hopes of catching the cat.
"Although this victim had only minor injuries, we take this incident seriously," said Sean Shepherd, area manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "We have alerted neighbors and posted signs warning of lion activity."
This was the first known mountain lion attack on a human in Colorado since February 2022.
