Man Dead, Brother Injured After First Fatal Mountain Lion Attack in California in 20 Years

The 18-year-old brother has undergone several surgeries and is expected to make a full recovery, according to a report

• A 21-year-old man was killed and his 18-year-old brother was injured in a mountain lion attack in California on Saturday, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said

• "The reporting party suffered traumatic injuries to his face and was separated from his brother during the attack," authorities said

• The mountain lion was killed and is being examined to “figure out why the attack occurred," an official said
  

A man was killed and his brother was injured on Saturday in what officials say is the first fatal mountain lion attack in California in 20 years.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that their agency received a 911 call around 1:13 p.m. local time from an 18-year-old man who reported that he and his 21-year-old brother were attacked by a mountain lion in Georgetown.

"The reporting party suffered traumatic injuries to his face and was separated from his brother during the attack," authorities said in the release.

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office deputies and paramedics responded to the area and began to render aid to the 18-year-old victim.

Related: Hiker Injured After Mountain Lion Tries to Attack His Dog in California Canyon

"Additional Deputies began the search for the unaccounted brother," the sheriff’s office said. "At around 1:46pm Deputies observed a crouched mountain lion next to a subject on the ground. The mountain lion was between the Deputies and the subject on the ground."

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Deputies discharged their firearms, scaring the mountain lion off so they could render aid, but the 21-year-old was dead.

Related: Calif. Boy, 5, Survives Attack by Mountain Lion: 'His Spirit Is Intact'

Sgt. Kyle Parker with the department told the Los Angeles Times that two game wardens with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and an El Dorado County trapper shot and killed the mountain lion. Parker said the animal's body was examined to “figure out why the attack occurred."

The 18-year-old man has undergone several surgeries and is expected to make a full recovery, according to the newspaper.

The victims' identities have not been released at this time. PEOPLE has reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment.

Related: Rafters Use Paddles to Fight Off Mountain Lion That Attacked Man in Remote Area in Arizona

Beth Pratt, the head of the nonprofit National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that mountain lion attacks are "extremely rare."

"Mountain lions have killed four people since 1986, in a state with a population of 40 million, Pratt wrote. "These statistics don’t diminish the tragedy when a person is killed or injured by a lion, but it puts the risk in perspective."

A 35-year-old man was the last victim of a fatal mountain lion attack in 2004, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s list of “verified mountain lion-human attacks.”

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