Mountain biker mistakes a house cat for a cougar in attack from tree

A mountain biker reported being attacked by a mountain lion that jumped on him from a tree as he rode by, causing scratches to his leg. Turns out, it was a case of mistaken identity.

The 19-year-old was riding on James Way in Arroyo Grande, California, when the encounter occurred last Wednesday, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

Wildlife officers investigated the incident and took some of the victim’s clothes and bicycle helmet to the Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Sacramento for DNA testing, which began on Sunday.

By Monday morning, lab technicians had properly identified the feline.

“Lab results came back not with evidence of a cougar, but domestic cat DNA instead,” the The Tribune stated.

“Mountain lion DNA was not detected on any of the samples,” Patrick Foy, a captain with California Fish and Wildlife’s law enforcement division, told The Tribune.

Foy told The Tribune that the victim declined any medical treatment.

“Only 24 mountain lion attacks on humans have been reported since 1984,” The Tribune reported. “The majority of incidents were nonfatal, although in four cases in El Dorado, San Diego and Orange counties, victims died. No cases have been reported in San Luis Obispo County, however an attack in Gaviota State Park in Santa Barbara occurred in 1992.”

Generic photo of a real mountain lion courtesy of the Pocatello Police Department.