The Lion’s Grasp

Anne Hjelle and Debbie Nicholls were avid mountain bikers, so, on a beautiful afternoon in January 2004, they decided to go for a ride in California’s Santa Ana Mountains. They had ridden this trail many times, and they were looking forward to being together, enjoying each other’s company, and pushing their bodies to the limit.

Anne was riding point, a short distance in front of Debbie when she rounded a bend. Debbie heard a loud and horrific scream and knew her friend was in trouble, but she never expected what she saw.

Anne was in the grasp of a 110-pound mountain lion, being dragged by the back of her neck towards a ravine. Hoping to scare the lion off Debbie threw her bike at him but it didn’t work. He kept going so she dove for Anne’s leg, grabbed it, and held on. But the lion was strong and was able to pull them both.

They were both screaming for help when two men on the trail heard their screams and hurried to help. When they saw what was happening they reacted by throwing rocks at the lion. Fortunately one of the rocks hit him in the neck and he released his grip on Anne. She was alive but in serious trouble. Help arrived and she was air lifted to the nearest hospital where she underwent surgery. She survived the attack.

Later that day the body of a 35-year-old man was found in the ravine where Anne was being dragged. The same mountain lion had killed him. The authorities tracked, found, and killed the mountain lion before anyone else could be hurt.

This story contains two resiliency skills that were very important in saving Anne’s life. The first was her courage and that of the three others. The second is Debbie’s friendship and her willingness to risk her own life to help Anne. The courage and friendship demonstrated by these four people are skills we can help our children cultivate.

 

 

Share This Article:[sgmb id=1]