A group of women fought a cougar for 45 minutes last month after the animal attacked one of them during a cycling workout.
The five cyclists, aged in their 50s and 60s, were on a trail northeast of Fall City, Washington, on February 17 when the animal pounced on Keri Bergere. Using rocks and sticks, her friends rallied to stop the beast from killing her.
“Looking to my right, I saw the cougar’s face. It was just a fraction of a second, and he tackled me off my bike,” recalled the woman who fortunately survived the attack during an interview with the American media KUOW.
After the first 15 minutes of battle, Keri Bergere managed to free herself from the cougar’s embrace. The other ladies then immobilized the animal for 30 minutes, until the arrival of the competent authorities.
The animal, a male weighing approximately 75 pounds and nearly a year old, was ultimately shot and killed, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildfire (WDFW) said in a statement.
In the attack, Keri Bergere lost an earring which was found in the feline’s belly. She decided to keep it as a souvenir and a testimony to the courage of her friends.
“All these ladies demonstrated superhuman strength. They’re tiny ladies, and I know (the WDFW) fired the last shot to kill them. But these ladies killed this cougar with their bare hands and without weapons. I am forever grateful to each and every one of them,” she told KUOW.
