Plus: The Bay Lights might shine again… and SF has some of the deadliest interactions in the country.
You’re more likely to die by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion… by a multiple of 23. (Read: You could, theoretically speaking, expect to die by a lightning strike 23 times over before being attacked by a mountain once.) And if you were to perish as a result of that large cat attack, then those odds more than triple. (Read: You can comfortably infer that you’d part this mortal coil about 111 times over before you’d perish from a mountain lion mauling.)
Following the mountain lion attack today, Sat., March 23, 2024, in Georgetown, California, a mountain lion was euthanized near the scene of the attack. The mountain lion has been sent to the CDFW forensics laboratory to obtain DNA information and general health of the lion.
— California Department of Fish and Wildlife (@CaliforniaDFW) March 24, 2024
Despite all odds, the unimaginable can happen, which is what transpired when brothers 21-year-old Taylen Robert Claude Brooks and 18-year-old Wyatt Jay Charles Brooks of Mount Aukum, California were attacked in a rare mountain attack in El Dorado County over the weekend. Wyatt Jay Charles was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his wounds, later undergoing facial reconstruction surgery due to the lion’s bites to his face, though Taylen Brooks was later found by first responders deceased, the lion crouching over his lifeless body — becoming the first fatality caused by a mountain lion attack in California in two decades.
Per the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), there have only been three confirmed human deaths caused by mountain lions in the state since 1986.
According to police reports, the pair was antler shed hunting — the act of searching for antlers that deer and other antlered-like animals molt during the winter months after mating season —when they noticed a mountain lion alongside them. “Both Taylen and Wyatt did what they had always learned,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement shared by SFGate. “They raised their hands in the air to appear larger, yelled at the lion and Wyatt even threw his backpack at the lion, all in an attempt to scare the lion away.”
The lion persisted, mauling the two boys, biting Wyatt Jay Charles multiple times in the face, and latching onto Tayle Rober Claude’s neck in a predatory bite meant to kill prey.
CDFW confirmed Sunday the mountain lion responsible for the attacks was tracked down and euthanized.
Taylen Rober Claude is remembered by his family and friends as a talented guitar player and a gentle, kind, nature-loving soul; Wyatt Jay Charles is currently attending the Mt. Adams Fire Academy, where after graduating he hopes to work for Cal Fire.
What else transpired over the weekend? Let’s take a look.
- The Bay Lights might come back, after all. Fundraising efforts have raised nearly the $11M goal required to see the lights shine again, by way of costly, though necessary, upgrades and further installations; should the goal be reached, we could expect to see the lights shine before the end of 2024. More info
- Lil’ school students unearthed a fossil arm bone in Santa Cruz. Experts believe that the elementary-age kiddos managed to unearth fossilized remnants of an ancient sloth known as the Jefferson’s ground sloth — which weighed over 2,000 pounds. More info
- Get ready to pay even more when crossing into SF by way of the Golden Gate Bridge. Bridge officials have approved a $0.50 annual increase that begins this July through 2028… which will make coming into SF from Marin cost a whopping $11. More info
- ICYMI: SF’s intersections are among the most deadly in the entire country. The study published by Stone Injury Lawyers placed SF in the top ten cities and counties in the country where over 50% of all vehicle fatalities occur at intersections; this news comes in the wake of a family of four being killed at a West Portal bus stop after being struck by a speeding SUV. More info
Feature Image: Courtesy of USDA Forest Service
