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60-year-old Keri Bergere was riding with her four friends on the Tokul Creek trail near Snoqualmie, Washington when she was attacked by a mountain lion.
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She survived to tell the tale thanks to her four incredible friends—all competitive cyclists—who went above and beyond to get Bergere out of the cougar’s death grip and subdued until wildlife authorities and medical professionals could arrive to help.
A group photo before the attack. Courtesy of Keri Bergere.
Bergere describes riding in the middle of the group when she glanced to her right, shortly before a young male mountain lion leapt at her, tackling her off her bike. The animal had her pinned to the ground, her face in its jaws.
A second cougar had also initially appeared on the trail, but then ran off.
The four other women immediately took action, thinking only of saving their friend.
One cyclist, Annie Bilotta (64), attempted to pry the cougar’s jaws from her friend’s face.
Another woman, Auna Tietz (59), tried to pull the mountain lion off Bergere by grabbing its leg, and then she tried to scare it away by smashing it with a 25-pound rock as many times as she could physically lift the boulder.
Quick Thinking
For approximately 15 minutes, according to the testimony, Bergere was in the animal’s grip, until it finally released her. When it did, Bergere was able to crawl away while the other women defended their own lives with some quick thinking.
Courtesy of Keri Bergere
Tisch Williams (59) grabbed one of the bikes, and she and the others used the bike and their body weight to keep the cougar down until help finally arrived, 45 minutes after the initial attack.
The $6,000 bike belonging to Erica Wolf (51) was the survival tool these fierce friends needed to defend themselves in this nightmare situation turned real.
Bergere is now recovering and says she owes her life to her cyclist friends who have become family.
Thankfully, mountain lion attacks on humans are relatively rare. If you do come across a cougar in the wild, make yourself appear big and threatening to try to scare it away. If you happen to have a bike, no matter how expensive it may be, you might also take a page out of these ladies’ book.
