KOB-TV
updated 2:45 p.m. CT, Tues., June. 24, 2008
PINOS ALTOS, N.M. (AP) - Medical investigators say a mountain lion was responsible for the death of a man who had been reported missing.

Relatives of 55-year-old Robert Nawojski of Pinos Altos say he liked to bathe and shave on a rock ledge about 60 yards from his home.

The state Department of Game and Fish determined the lion attacked Nawojski just below the ledge, dragged his body a short distance and then ate and buried parts of it.

Searchers called the department last Thursday night after encountering a mountain lion while searching for Nawojski, whose brother reported him missing earlier that day.

A game officer who spotted the lion shot and wounded it.

Game and Fish officers and federal Wildlife Services agents still were searching for the animal Monday.

Lions have to eat too! That's one more muledeer safe from harm!

That's one way to look at it!

The bad thing about this whole deal is that there are reports that one of his neighbors had been feeding the cat in his back yard for the past month or so in order to get good pictures of it. During this time, the cat was seen several times and reported to the Game and Fish, who, according to reports, did little. A human-habituated hungry mountain lion is not what I would want hanging around my place.

This is the original press release sent out by the NM G&FD. -TONY


SEARCH CONTINUES FOR LION THAT KILLED PINOS ALTOS MAN

PINOS ALTOS, N.M. -- New Mexico Department of Game and Fish officers and U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services agents used dogs and snares this week in a continuing effort to find or catch a mountain lion that killed and apparently ate parts of a Pinos Altos man last week.

Medical investigators confirmed Monday that Robert Nawojski, 55, died from injuries sustained in a mountain lion attack near his home in a wooded area of Pinos Altos north of Silver City. Nawojski, who lived alone in a small mobile home, was believed to have been attacked by the lion late Tuesday or early Wednesday last week. Searchers found his body June 20, a day after his brother reported him missing.

It was determined that Nawojski, who according to relatives like to bathe and shave on a rock ledge about 60 yards from his house, was attacked just below that ledge. The lion then apparently dragged the body a short distance, and then ate and buried parts of it.

A Department of Game and Fish officer initially was called to the scene Thursday night when a search team looking for Nawojski found a mountain lion near the trailer home. The officer shot and wounded the lion after it would not leave the yard. After the lion ran off, the officer discovered the door to the house open, the water running, and Nawojski's false teeth on the table.

Rick Winslow, the Department's large carnivore biologist, said fatal attacks on humans by mountain lions are tragic and very uncommon. It has been decades since one occurred in New Mexico. He said such attacks typically are by young, hungry animals looking to establish their own territory.

"Attacks by wildlife may become more frequent as our growing population expands into the urban-wildland interface," Winslow said. "New Mexico has a healthy population of mountain lions and people who live around them must learn to take precautions and avoid dangerous encounters."

Nawojski became only the second human fatality involving a mountain lion attack in recent New Mexico history. In January 1974, an 8-year-old boy from Arroyo Seco was killed by an emaciated 47-pound female lion. The boy and his 7-year-old half brother were playing about a half-mile from their home when they were attacked by the lion. The lion was later killed by a neighbor.

Winslow estimated there are 2,000 to 3,000 mountain lions in New Mexico, including a population in the Silver City - Pinos Altos area.

If you live in lion country

Here are some tips to protect yourself, your family and pets:

• Watch the kids: Closely supervise children and make sure they are home before dusk and not outside before dawn.

• No hiding places: Trim or remove vegetation around the house, and close off open spaces beneath porches and decks so lions won't have places to hide.

• Lighting: Install outdoor lighting so you can see a lion if one is present.

• No prey: Don't feed wildlife, especially deer, which are lions' favorite prey.



If you encounter a lion:

• Don’t run! If you come across a bear or a lion, stay calm and slowly back away while continuing to face the animal and avoiding direct eye contact. Pick up small children so they don’t panic and run, which can trigger the animals’ instinct to chase.

• Travel in groups: There is strength in numbers, and most bears and lions will respect that and leave the area.

• Make yourself big: Hold out your arms and spread your jacket so the bear or lion doesn’t consider you its prey. Don’t kneel or bend over, which could trigger an attack.

• Back away: If the animal has not seen you, slowly back away while making noise so it knows you are there. If it still approaches, stand tall, yell, rattle pots and pans or whistle. If you are on a trail, step off on the downhill side and give the animal room to pass.

• Don’t mess with mama: Never, ever, get between a mother and her cubs or kittens.

• Never offer food: Offering food to a bear is inviting it to stick around. When it’s done with your friendly offering, it may consider having you for dessert.

• If you are attacked: Fight back aggressively, using anything you can reach as a weapon. Do not play dead.

No that is not one way to look at it, that is a very damn sick way to look at it.
This was someones relative and friend and it is tragic that he had to die for someones stupidity.
If it can be proved that the neighbor had been feeding this cat then he should be charged with murder just as if it had been his dog that killed the man.

To make a joke of this mans death is low class and crude.

It is like I told my wife last night..It has to be a mistake. Mountain lions only pose for pictures in magazines..Cute, and all..Cuddly, not deadly
Condolences to the family though..PETA should get the lawsuit..

I am always amazed that the so called experts never mention carry a gun and shoot the thing it if is going to attack you.

wapiti7 wrote:

quote:

Lions have to eat too! That's one more muledeer safe from harm!

I can't even imagine how an individual could be so heartless, callous and clueless as to make such a comment.

An individual lost his life. My prayers go out to him and his family.

Granted, I wasn't there and don't know the details, but there's one more thing I feel the need to address. As to the "wildlife officer" who took a shot at the cat, I must question:

If you have neither the training nor the equipment to handle the task at hand, get someone in there who has the capability to handle the situation properly. It amazes me when these type of incidents happen, like the small black bear last year that was shot 13 times and still alive.

Unfortunately, many "officers" have no clue as to ballistics and shot placement. Many only shoot their service weapons a couple of times per year -- and "center of mass" is the only requirement on their qualifying targets.

quote:

I can't even imagine how an individual could be so heartless, callous and clueless as to make such a comment.

An individual lost his life. My prayers go out to him and his family.

In this case I'd agree Bobby.

But if a lion here in CA were to eat Tom Hayden or someone equally deserving I wouldn't mind at all.

Last known picture of Timothy Treadwell "The Grizzly Man"

quote:

Originally posted by Skinner.:

quote:

I can't even imagine how an individual could be so heartless, callous and clueless as to make such a comment.

An individual lost his life. My prayers go out to him and his family.

In this case I'd agree Bobby.

But if a lion here in CA were to eat Tom Hayden or someone equally deserving I wouldn't mind at all.

Last known picture of Timothy Treadwell "The Grizzly Man"

Now that right there is funny!