A 21-year-old man lost his life while his 18-year-old brother suffered serious injuries following a mountain lion attack in El Dorado County, Northern California. The younger brother, who has had several surgeries since the attack, is expected to make a full recovery. This is the first fatal mountain lion attack in California in nearly two decades.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Saturday, March 23, 2024, in an isolated region close to Georgetown, roughly 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, California.

According to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the 18-year-old placed a distress call to local law enforcement at around 1:13 p.m., reporting that a mountain lion had attacked him and his brother while they were looking for shed antlers near Georgetown. During the attack, he was separated from his brother and sustained severe facial injuries.

Upon their arrival, deputies and medical personnel attended to his injuries immediately and later transported him to a hospital for further treatment. They then started a search for the other brother, who was found at approximately 1:46 p.m., lying on the ground with the mountain lion crouched over him.

The officers fired their weapons to scare off the mountain lion and were then able to approach the victim. Upon reaching him, it was evident that he had succumbed to his injuries from the attack.

A professional trapper, in tandem with wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), located and euthanized the mountain lion within a few hours of the incident, according to Kyle Parker, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. An autopsy revealed that the animal was a healthy male weighing around 90 pounds. DNA evidence confirmed the mountain lion’s involvement in the attack.

Records from the CDFW indicate that fatal encounters with mountain lions are rare, with the last fatality reported in Orange County in 2004. Despite an estimated population of 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions across California, most interactions with humans go unnoticed.

Since the early 1900s, less than 50 mountain lion attacks on humans have been recorded in California. Among these, only five resulted in fatalities. The agency’s data indicates that in three of these fatal encounters, the victims were alone during the attack.

The sheriff’s office stated on Sunday that the surviving brother, after multiple surgeries for his injuries, is expected to recover fully. “The family expresses appreciation for the community’s prayers and sympathies but desires privacy as they navigate through this tragic occurrence,” the office reported.