A Washington cyclist narrowly survived a cougar attack, when her friends used rocks, sticks and their bare hands to fight off the predator as it bit her face and latched on.
Keri Bergere, 60, is still recovering from her terrifying Feb. 17 encounter with the 75-pound mountain lion. She and her friends were 19 miles into a biking trip on a trail northeast of Fall City when one of the women noticed the menacing cat.
"Cougar! Cougar," Auna Tietz shouted, according to KUOW.
Bergere and Tietz frequently cycle with friends Annie Bilotta, Tisch Williams and Erica Wolf. All of the women are competitive cyclists in their 50s and 60s.
There were two cats in front of the women - one ran off, but the other lunged at Bergere, who was leading the group.
"Looking to my right, I saw the cougar's face," Bergere told KUOW. "It was just a split second, and he tackled me off my bike."
The animal bit Bergere and pinned her into the dirt off the side of the trail.
"I could feel the bones crushing, and I could feel it tearing back," she told KUOW. "I felt like it was suffocating me. I could taste the blood in my mouth."
"I was swallowing so much blood," she continued. "I just thought it was done. But then I got another little surge, you know, live to ride one more day."
The other women raced into action. They screamed and threw rocks at the cat. Bilotta even tried choking it.
"That was like choking a rock," she told KOUW. "It did absolutely nothing."
For 15 harrowing minutes, the women did everything in their power to protect their friend - before finally pinning the cougar with one of their $6,000 racing bikes.
"I just remember getting tackled from this side and ending up at the other side of the road pinned to the ground and hearing all the ladies rallying and fighting for my life," Bergere told KING.
With the animal sufficiently under control, they were able to call 911. Thirty minutes later an officer with the Fish & Wildlife Police made it to the women. Officer Chris Moszeter was forced to shoot the cougar, at which point the group could focus on getting Bergere to the hospital.
"It was a relief," Tietz told KOUW. "Getting off the bike [they used to pin the cougar] finally freed me to be with Keri and say to her, 'You are safe now. You will be in good hands. You will be in the hospital soon.'"
Bergere spent five days in the hospital and is still dealing with the aftermath of the attack. An autopsy conducted on the cougar has given no further insight into why the attack happened - the animal wasn't rabid or otherwise sick.
Bergere remains grateful to her friends and appreciative of the risk they took to keep her alive until help could arrive.
"I know for a fact I would be dead if they didn't come back in, I would just be gone," she told KING. "That cougar had me."
