The tests results are in for blood found on the backpack of a hiker who claimed he was attacked by a mountain lion and then saved by a bear. The California Department of Fish and Game said the blood is human, and other tests show no sign of an animal attack.
Robert Biggs, 69, of Paradise, Calif., claimed last week that he was watching a bear and her cub when he was ambushed by a mountain lion. He told The Paradise Post the mountain lion dug all four of its paws into his backpack, and one of the black bears charged the lion and chased it off. The backpack was collected for testing and the Fish and Game warden joined in the investigation.
The DFG only found a small amount of blood and no signs of bear or mountain lion blood or saliva, said Kirsten Macintyre, Communications Manager for the DFG, in an email to The Post.
“All of the evidence — the lab results, an investigation at the scene, and the scratches on Mr. Biggs’ arm — is inconsistent with a mountain lion attack,” said Macintyre in the email.
She told The Post that there would have been hair or saliva left on the pack had Biggs been attacked by a mountain lion — there was no indication found by the DFG.
Biggs, however, is sticking with his story. He said he told the DFG that the blood on the pack might be his and that the lion was only on him for a few seconds. He also said he washed his clothes after he came home, cleaned up his wounds and that the pack was out in the rain prior to being picked up by the DFG.