A man in southern Colorado killed a mountain lion with a shovel at his campsite on September 26 after it became aggressive towards him and his dog, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).

The incident occurred west of Cannon City in Fremont County and was reported to CPW officers the next day. When wildlife officers arrived, they found a dead mountain lion on the hood of the man’s SUV. According to C.P.W. The man, whose identity was not released, explained that the lion approached him and his husky and then began fighting with the dog, CPW said. Fearing for his life, the man struck the animal in the head with a shovel, resulting in its death, authorities said.

A man used a shovel to kill a mountain lion at a campground in southern Colorado. https://t.co/LkPoODU2MC pic.twitter.com/CioNdGMdv3

— 9NEWS Denver (@9NEWS) October 3, 2024

The 95-pound female mountain lion is said to have exhibited unusual and aggressive behavior. However, CPW guidelines do not classify this encounter as an attack because the man was not injured and there was no physical contact by the lion. Based on a preliminary investigation, CPW concluded that the man acted in self-defense. A necropsy will be performed on the lion’s body to determine if there were any health conditions that affected its behavior. As the investigation is ongoing, CPW has not released any further comment on this incident.

Over the past 34 years, Colorado has recorded 25 mountain lion attacks on humans, three of which were fatal. Last year, a young mountain lion injured an 11-year-old girl in Chaffee County and had to be euthanized, CBS News reported. reported. In the same county, another lion scratched a man who was sitting in a bathtub. Both survived. (Related: Mountain lion attacks man, kills man, injures brother)

In 2019, a jogger in Larimer County suffocated a mountain lion that attacked him during a fight, according to CBS. A recent incident in Fremont County adds to Colorado’s checkered history with mountain lion populations and highlights the unpredictable nature of wildlife encounters.