Apex predator ‘appeared suddenly’ and jumped on small dog on walk in Colorado
An apex predator “appeared suddenly” and jumped on a small dog as it was walking with its owners in a Colorado neighborhood, officials said.
“We wanted to make the community aware of a mountain lion attack involving a dog that occurred in North Boulder over the weekend,” the Boulder Police Department said in a July 28 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Residents were walking the dog around 9:30 p.m. on July 25 when the mountain lion jumped onto the dog, officials said.
“The dog appeared to die instantly,” officials said. “The mountain lion did not threaten the residents and then took the dog away. Colorado Parks and Wildlife were notified.”
The mountain lion was spotted in the area again the next day, so the department’s animal protection officers partnered with park rangers to monitor the cougar.
“We presumed the deceased dog or another animal was nearby in a cache, where the mountain lion had stored the animal for later/continued consumption,” officials said. “That is a common reason a mountain lion would remain in a specific area or yard for a prolonged period of time.”
The officers watched the mountain lion hide in a bush for almost two hours before it “swiftly” left and disappeared, officials said. They then “recovered the dog’s remains in a nearby backyard so his family could have closure and the mountain lion would not return to it.”
A photo shows the mountain lion walking near a covered pool in a backyard.
“Though this type of attack is rare, mountain lions are common in Colorado,” officials said, adding that the predators have been present in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains ecosystem “for thousands of years.”
“They are both territorial and solitary. When a mountain lion leaves its territory, another mountain lion takes it over,” officials said. “Because of this, removing or relocating lions observed in the city does not reduce potential conflict. Rather, the focus is on building education and awareness about lions in the community. Relocation and removal of lions from the city is reserved for individual animals that pose a direct threat to humans through abnormal or aggressive behavior.”
What to do if you see a mountain lion
Mountain lions are typically “calm, quiet and elusive,” according to the National Park Service. While attacks involving mountain lions are rare, they are possible.
“Even so, the potential for being killed or injured by a mountain lion is quite low compared to many other natural hazards,” the National Park Service said on its website. “There is a far greater risk, for example, of being killed in an automobile accident with a deer than of being attacked by a mountain lion.”
Officials said there are some things you can do to prevent a mountain lion encounter from becoming an attack..
- Stay calm and back away slowly.
- Face the lion and stand up straight.
- Don’t approach a mountain lion, especially if it’s with kittens.
- Don’t run. It could stimulate a mountain lion’s chase instincts.
- Pick up small children so they don’t panic or run away.
- Don’t bend over or crouch down.
- Throw things at the mountain lion if it continues to move toward you.
- If the mountain lion attacks, fight back using anything around you.
- Report all sightings, encounters or attacks to local park rangers or law enforcement.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Apex predator ‘appeared suddenly’ and jumped on small dog on walk in Colorado."
