A mountain lion attacked a man and his dog near Buckeye, Arizona, on May 25, 2025, about 10 p.m. The attacks occurred in Verrado, which is near the Skyline Regional Park. Buckeye is a bit closer to Phoenix than it is to Yuma. This correspondent has traveled within a few miles of the attack location numerous times. It is a relatively wild stretch of desert, but close to human developments. People in the developments say there have been numerous sightings of mountain lions over the last few months. From azcentral.com:
Officials said the man engaged in “a brief altercation” with the wild animal, successfully “kicking the lion off of his dog.” But it continued to follow them as they began walking back toward their home.
When the mountain lion attempted to approach again, the man shot and killed it.
Officials said the animal was slain in self-defense. State wildlife managers picked up the carcass, and no citations were issued.
Mountain lions, as well as coyotes and bobcats, frequently view pets, and occasionally, humans as prey. Most pet owners are unwilling to stand by and allow a mountain lion to kill and eat their pet, their children, or themselves.
Due to an intense campaign to humanize wild animals, combined with a high level of prosperity and urbanization, there is a significant percentage of humans who believe any animal attack on humans is justified, but a human defense against an animal attack is not justified. Fortunately, this is a small but often vocal minority.
Here is a sample of such comments on the Facebook page that has this article:
Sheri Caldwell:Â Why did he have to kill him? Why didn’t he call somebody to take him away
Matt Muyres: The lion probably didn’t attack, but was walking peacefully, and the idiot loves killing animals for fun
Cheryl Chase: Dont walk ur dog at night and u wont have any problems
These are a small minority of the posts. Most of the posters view the pet protector’s actions as laudable. Posts such as these:
Pedro Gonzalez: Good for him and his dog. If the lion wants to continue to attack, theres no other option.
Morgan Elizabeth: If it was the lion or my dog. The lion would get shot. I’m protecting my pet and me.
One of the most astute posts was about the mountain lion having the wrong attitude:
Trev Meyer: Well done. Mountain lion should have known better when seeing or smelling a human go the other way.
This has been the most common response of mountain lions to humans for the century from 1870 to 1970. During that time period, there were only 9 or 10 fatal mountain lion attacks reported. Most were attacks on children. Mountain lions were generally unprotected and often shot if they were seen. Mountain lion hunting with hounds was common.
From 1971 to the present, there have been 18 fatal mountain lion attacks reported. This has coincided with a significant increase in protections for mountain lions. The rate of fatal attacks has increased roughly 4X. Both mountain lion and human populations have increased.
The number of attacks is much, much greater than the number of fatal attacks. Man is the most deadly land predator in the world. In the United States, where mountain lions are found, humans are often armed. Mountain lions are likely killed in defense of self, others, pets, or livestock at least ten times as often as mountain lions kill a person. It is hard to know how many mountain lions are scared off by armed and unarmed people. Probably more than ten times as many mountain lions are successfully scared off as are killed by humans.
The sex or age of the mountain lion that was killed was not known at the time of writing. Most confrontations where lions are killed are with younger lions. This particular lion was said to be thin. Nearly all predators, including mountain lions, produce more offspring than can be supported by the existing range. The excess lions have to find a territory that can support them. Either they displace a lion with a current territory (which then dies of wounds or has to find another territory) or they die of starvation. Man helps to keep mountain lion populations in check through hunting. Hunting opens up territories for younger lions to occupy, so they do not need to explore to find a new territory for their own.
All mountain lions die. They mostly die by starvation as the population exceeds the food supply. Sometimes older lions are forced from their territories by younger lions. It is more common for younger lions to search for an unoccupied territory after being chased out by a more mature lion than it is for a younger lion to successfully displace an older lion.
Lions also die by accident or by injury incurred as they attempt to kill their prey. A lion researcher this correspondent knew fifty years ago described how one lion they were tracking ran headlong into a sharp broken limb, hidden by tall grass in a meadow. It impaled itself down the throat, and died. The lion was probably pursuing a deer.
In the case in Buckeye, Arizona, it appears the lion was starving and desperate. This caused it to make a fatal mistake in the prey selection process.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Lock the detractors in a cage with a mountain lion, let them pet their way out.
Like bears, cougars will prey on their own kind. Life as a predator is not cumbaya. Urbanite humans are aflicted with the lion king and bambi syndrome. Sweetness is not a natural trait of predators in the wild, nor is it a trait that is likely to be bred into them.
At least some of the blame for the “animals are all sweet” baloney can be laid at the feet of Disney’s audio-animatronics. Happy bears singing mountain songs and playing stringed instruments projects a dangerous fantasy that leads the ignorant into dangerous even life-threatening situations. Every year stupid tourists discover bison don’t want to pose for their selfies, mama bears are very protective of their cubs, and an elk will stomp a mud hole in your chest and then stomp it dry. All that is further complicated by left-wing political ideologies that postulate “the animals were here first” so their life… Read more »
The shooter was fortunate he was in AZ. Because the identical incident a few miles over in the Peoples Republic he would be needing Perry Mason.
How sad. Apparently the man was not allowed to keep the pelt.
Over the years I have collected various newspaper clips to entertain and inform student in hunter education classes. One classic is a letter to the editor of the San Francisco Examiner where a woman asks the question why hunters have to hunt for meat. After all, why don’t they just get their meat at the store so no animal will be adversely impacted. These people vote.