Mountain lion claws Colorado man soaking in hot tub

Colorado Parks and Wildlife are searching for a mountain lion after the animal clawed a Colorado man sitting in a hot tub with his wife on Saturday night.

The victim said he and his wife were in the hot tub when he felt something grab his head. After realizing it was a mountain lion, the couple used a flashlight and made noise, which caused the animal to retreat and allowed them to return inside their rental property, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a press release. The man had four "superficial scratches" on the top of his head and near his right ear.

Officials commended the couple's tactics to fend off the animal. "The couple did the right thing by making noise and shining a light on the lion. Although this victim had only minor injuries, we take this incident seriously," said area wildlife manager Sean Shepherd. "We have alerted neighbors and posted signs warning of lion activity."

The couple alerted the property owner, who is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife employee, about the incident. The owner proceeded to alert CPW officers, who arrived at the scene but had no luck with tracking down the animal.

Officials plan to track mountain lion activity and have set a trap nearby where the encounter took place "in hopes of catching the lion."

This incident marks the first reported attack of a mountain lion on a human in the state since late last month, and the 24th since 1990. But, although mountain lion attacks are relatively rare, authorities share ways to reduce and manage potential encounters with the animal here.