Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, 6550. W County Road 38 E in Fort Collins, was indefinitely closed Thursday after a hiker reported an aggressive mountain lion sighting that morning, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Larimer County Department of Natural Resources shared in a that , including the main trailhead and the Soderberg trailhead, would be closed until further notice because of mountain lion activity reported in the area.
A man hiking in the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space reported a mountain lion that showed aggressive behavior about 250 yards in front of him Thursday morning, said CPW spokeswoman Kara Van Hoose. Although the hiker never made contact with the mountain lion, he told Colorado Parks and Wildlife that the lion began to approach him and lunged forward. The closest the lion got was 75 to 100 yards, Van Hoose said.
She was unable to confirm what could have caused the mountain lion’s aggressive behavior, but suspects it may have been due to trying to protect a cache, which is a hidden and partially eaten kill that the cat tries to conceal from scavengers so they can feed on it for days.
” … They could become defensive of that cache, so that could be an explanation, but that’s the behavior we typically see associated with that,” Van Hoose said.
The Larimer County Department of Natural Resources post also stated that staff would continue to monitor the area to help ensure the public’s safety. The department did not respond in time for publication to requests for more information.
Although the decision to close the open space was not made by CPW, Van Hoose said the agency will also continue to monitor mountain lion activity in the area.
Van Hoose said that because of the Thursday morning sighting, signage would be placed in the area advising hikers of mountain lion activity. She said that a different hiker reported a sighting in the same area Jan. 11, but that the two lions spotted did not express aggressive behavior.
She added that Horsetooth Mountain is mountain lion habitat and that hikers should know they could be in the area.
“This is a time we would expect mountain lion activity and people just should practice general mountain lion safety while recreating in Larimer County,” Van Hoose said. “It’s common to encounter mountain lions there, but even more common that lions are there and you just don’t know it. Keep pets on leashes and be aware of your surroundings.”
The closure comes weeks after a woman was killed in a mountain lion attack on the Crosier Mountain Trail in unincorporated Larimer County, south of Glen Haven, on New Year’s Day. Colorado Parks and Wildlife euthanized two mountain lions near the incident, one of which had on all four of its paws.
