Man Claims Bear Saved Him From Mountain Lion Attack
Most people consider dogs to be man's best friend, but 69 year-old Robert Biggs of Paradise may think otherwise after he says he was saved from a mountain lion attack by a mother bear. It happened Monday morning while Biggs was on a hike in the Bean Soup Flat area near Magalia. He came across the bear and her cub, but as Biggs continued along the trail he got an unexpected surprise. Biggs says he was bent over and going up the trail when something jumped on his back and knocked him to his knees. When he turned around he saw that it was a mountain lion. That's when the mountain lion reportedly climbed on top of Biggs, forcing him to fight for his life.
"I had the rock pick in my right hand and I come around and swing it and hit it in the side of the head and it made a big screeching sound. And I come back to swing again and just as I get about halfway there I see a dark figure grabbing the neck of the mountain lion and just tearing it down to the ground below me," says Biggs.
According to Biggs, the bear and lion fought for a few seconds before the cat was able to get away. The bear then continued down the trail followed by her cub. Although Biggs wasn't particularly shaken up by the attack, his wife Suzanne was concerned when she saw his injuries.
"He came home this time with blood all over his pants. His arm, he had skin hanging off his arm. He had these puncture wounds and scratches and stuff. It scares me. I'm worried you know that if he goes down there he might not come back," she said.
But her husband didn't seem to share that fear, saying, "I'm sure the bear was trying to save me because the way it was looking at me just 2 minutes before I was standing there watching her and she was looking at me like we were old friends."
Biggs says the next day he went back to the Bean Soup Flat area to try and find the bear and mountain lion, but was unsuccessful in tracking them down.