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A mountain biker who survived a cougar attack that killed his friend east of Seattle is still hospitalized.
Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg said the 31-year-old man was in satisfactory condition Sunday. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife identified the survivor as Issac Sederbaum and the deceased victim as 32-year-old SJ Brooks.
The attack happened Saturday on a trail in the Cascade Mountain foothills in a very remote area northeast of Snoqualmie and North Bend. According to the King County Sheriff's Office, two men were riding bikes on a gravel road when the cougar attacked both of them.
"They were riding when one hears a scream from the partner, look back, and sees they're being chased by a cougar," said Alan Myers with the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.
Authorities said they did everything right, getting off their bikes, making noise and trying to scare the animal off. One even smacked it with his bike after it charged. The cougar ran off, but it returned and attacked when the men got back on their bikes.
"He was able to get back on his bike after being mauled, and rode out of the area," said Ryan Abott with the King County Sheriff's Office. "Before leaving the area, he looked back and saw his friend, and the cougar was attacking his friend. He wasn't able to go back and help him."
The 31-year-old man was taken to Harborview Medical Center for his injuries; he was listed in satisfactory condition on Sunday.
The second man fled into the woods to escape the cougar, but the animal chased after him.
Officers searching for the man located his bike on the road and found the cougar with him in the woods. A deputy fired a shot at it, and it fled into the woods.
The second man had been killed in the attack. His body was recovered in the late afternoon.
Officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Game tracked the cougar down and shot it dead. Wildlife agents say it was a male cougar, about 100 pounds and 3-4 years old.
DNA tests will be used to confirm if it is the same cougar in the attack.
This was only the second time in the past 100 years where a cougar killed a human in Washington state, according to Fish and Wildlife.
Gary Koehler, a former Fish and Wildlife research scientist for DFW, said cougars are typically wary of humans and Saturday's attack.
"This is an extremely rare event," said Koehler. "So nobody knows what may have triggered this event, but it will probably remain a mystery."
Koehler says the rare attack shouldn't prevent people from enjoying the outdoors.
"I certainly have sympathy for the people involved in this incident and their families, but I don't think this is an event that should cause fear people who like to recreate in the outdoors or live in the outdoors."
KING 5's Michael Crowe, Liza Javier, Ryan Takeo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
KING 5's Michael Crowe was at the scene and tweeted updates.
