Cyclist mauled by mountain lion in California

Anne Hjelle was bicycling along a wilderness trail when a mountain lion sprang from the brush, pounced on her back and dragged her off by the head as fellow bikers threw rocks at the animal and tried to pull her away.

The cougar finally ran off, leaving Hjelle -- a former Marine who works as a fitness instructor -- bloody and near death.

Hjelle, 30, lay in serious condition Friday after the mauling Thursday evening in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.

"This guy would not let go. He had a hold of her face," said Debbie Nichols, who was riding with Hjelle and held on to her friend during a desperate tug-of-war with the cat.

Authorities suspect the same mountain lion also killed 35-year-old Mark Jeffrey Reynolds, a St. Joseph, Mo., native and an amateur mountain bike racer whose half-eaten body was found Thursday in the park near his disabled bike. He had apparently been killed earlier in the day.

"The chains fell off or somehow broke, and while he was attempting to fix his bike is when the attack happened," said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

A 2-year-old male mountain lion, which weighed about 110 pounds, was shot and killed Thursday night after it returned to where Reynolds' body was found.

The park where the attacks occurred is in an area of Orange County designated as a wildlife habitat.

The lion that attacked Hjelle dragged her from the bike trail into a ravine. Nichols screamed for help and grabbed Hjelle's legs to free her while other cyclists threw rocks at the cat until it fled.

Lynn Sadler, executive director of the Mountain Lion Foundation, said fighting back was the right thing to do: "Predators can't afford to get hurt. If you fight back, you don't seem like prey to them."

Reynolds worked at a sports management firm and had won bike-race championships in his age category.

His mother, Dona Reynolds, said she was consoled that ehr son "was doing what he loved the most, and that was riding his bicycle."

Updike estimates there are between 4,000 and 6,000 adult lions roaming California. State law prohibits hunting or killing them.