Colorado has some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country.
Man and wildlife can have run-ins in this fast-growing state.
And a Colorado man had to make this scary decision after he was in a fight for his life.
Colorado city sees a rising number of mountain lions in town
Boulder, Colorado is located along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Wildlife often comes down from the mountains in search of food in town.
Boulder has an increase in sightings of mountain lions in the area.
Evan Price saw one with a limp driving home from work and contacted Colorado Parks and Wildlife about the big cat.
He pulled over and captured a video of the mountain lion on his cell phone while it strolled through a residential neighborhood in Boulder.
The mountain lion wasn’t fazed that Price had slowed down to film him.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have to put down mountain lions in Boulder that have become too comfortable getting close to humans.
Colorado man walking his dog fights off a mountain lion
Days after Price recorded the video of the limping mountain lion, another Colorado man ran into one.
Juan Gutierrez was walking his 14-year-old Pomeranian at night in Boulder when he noticed something strange across the street.
He noticed a mountain lion that began to move toward him.
Gutierrez tried to scare the big cat away from him and his dog.
“I’m pretty sure Riley thought it was another dog. I’ve never seen a cat that big,” Gutierrez said. “I yelled to stay back, and I yelled it four to five times and nothing. Nothing. The cat didn’t hesitate.”
Mountain lions are usually scared of people but this one was on the prowl.
Gutierrez realized that the big cat wasn’t going to run away so he prepared himself for a fight.
He had a flashlight with him and made the decision that he was going to strike first.
Gutierrez delivered a kick that Chuck Norris could have been proud of.
“I just flashed a light at its face and once it was too distracted, I kicked him,” Guitierrez recalled. “He looked at me and then he looked up towards the sky. I don’t know if he was seeing stars or something.”
The kick to the head stunned the mountain lion, which gave him enough time to escape with his dog.
He reported the incident to Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials who concluded that it was likely the same mountain lion that Evan Price filmed.
Gutierrez called Riley his “good luck charm.”
The pair had gotten into tight spots before with Colorado’s wildlife.
“He’s survived one dog attack and one black bear attack,” Guiterrez explained. He’s a cancer survivor, and he did survive a mountain lion attack last night.”
