Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Wildlife officials on Thursday credited a woman with saving her husband's life by clubbing a mountain lion that attacked him while the couple hiked in a California state park.

Jim and Nell Hamm, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month, were hiking Wednesday in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, 60 miles south of the Oregon state line, when the lion pounced.

"He didn't scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground," Nell Hamm said in an interview from the hospital.

Jim Hamm was recovering from a torn scalp, puncture wounds and other injuries.

After the attack, game wardens closed the park and released hounds to track the lion. They later shot and killed two lions found near the trail where the attack happened.

The carcasses were flown to a state forensics lab to determine if either animal had mauled the man.

Although the Hamms are experienced hikers, neither had seen a mountain lion before Jim Hamm was mauled, his wife said.

Nell Hamm said she grabbed a 4-inch-diameter log and beat the animal with it, but it would not release its hold on her husband's head.

"Jim was talking to me all through this, and he said, 'I've got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,"' she said.

"So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn't want to go in as easy as I thought it would."

When the pen bent and became useless, Nell Hamm went back to using the log. The lion eventually let go and, with blood on its snout, stood staring at the woman. She screamed and waved the log until the animal walked away.

"She saved his life, there is no doubt about it," said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game.

Nell Hamm, 65, said she was afraid to leave her dazed, bleeding husband alone, so the couple walked a quarter-mile to a trail head, where she gathered branches to protect them if more lions came around. They waited until a ranger came by and summoned help.

"My concern was to get Jim out of there," she said. "I told him, 'Get up, get up, walk,' and he did."

Jim Hamm, 70, was in fair condition Thursday. He had to have his lips stitched and underwent surgery for other lacerations on his head and body.

He told his wife he still wants to make the trip to New Zealand they planned for their anniversary, she said.

Nell Hamm warned people never to hike in the backcountry alone. Park rangers told the couple if Jim Hamm had been alone, he probably would not have survived.

"We fought harder than we ever have to save his life, and we fought together," she said.

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Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

(Meanwhile, she is 65 and they are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next week? They got married when she was 15?)

Message edited 1/26/2007 12:07:49 PM.

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

Posted by MsMBV

(Meanwhile, she is 65 and they are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next week? They got married when she was 15?)

Message edited 1/26/2007 12:12:22 PM.

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

Maybe I'm not understanding, but why did the park rangers kill two lions? I understand they would want to determine if the cat had any diseases, but cant they tranquilize until they dertermine everything? What was their guarantee that either one of them was the cat that attacked?

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

You know, I'm glad they're alright but this:

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

Why do you have a state park in the first place? It's supposed to be to protect and preserve nature, isn't it?

But they need to make money, so they try to attact people there. And the animals are seen as the problem when people intrude into the wild for their own enjoyment.

There is no easy answer, for sure. It just makes me really mad, to go along with a kneejerk reaction to just KILL a couple of lions to make everyone feel better.

Great.

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion

Wow! Very Scary!

Re: Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion