Mountain Lion Killed

In Arizona.

Game officers found and killed a mountain lion Sunday afternoon that stalked a hiker and his dog in a popular recreation area in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.

The hiker was walking with his dog on a trail Saturday near Madera Canyon when he saw that he was being followed by a mountain lion, said Heidi Schewel, a spokeswoman for Coronado National Forest.

It's possible that the lion saw the dog as prey, she said.

As the mountain lion got closer, the hiker "did everything that he was supposed to do" — shouting and making himself look bigger by waving his arms, Schewel said.

When the lion didn't stop, the hiker fired two warning shots into the air with his gun. When the lion kept coming, he shot at it, and this time it ran away.

The hiker didn't know if he hit the lion or not, Schewel said.

The incident was troubling to Forest Service officials because the lion showed no fear of humans. "It was not acting in a way that normal mountain lions act," Schewel said.