.   From Parker County Today Magazine

Medical Examiner Confirms Lipan Man Killed In Animal Attack

HOOD  COUNTY – It appears the Hood County Sheriff’s Office was right. A Lipan  man was killed in early December as the result of an animal attack.

The  HCSO on Tuesday released the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s findings  that the death of Christopher Allen Whiteley, 28, was “accidental” as  the result of “injuries of neck, due to animal attack.” That follows the  ME’s preliminary report that a pattern of punctures and lacerations  were found on the man’s neck attributed to a “large cat.”

“The  Hood County Sheriff’s Office supports the TCME Office ruling since  there were no signs of foul play in Whiteley’s death,” the department  said in a statement. The department said it has closed its investigation  into the death.

mountain lion (1).jpg
kvue.com via TPWD

There  were conflicting theories as to what caused Whiteley’s death. Sheriff’s  office investigators said evidence at the scene suggested the man was  killed as the result of an animal attack – possibly a mountain lion – as  he was walking to work that morning.

Texas game wardens who investigated came to a different conclusion, believing Whiteley died from some other cause.

"There  is not any evidence of a predatory attack by a mountain lion at the  location where the victim was found,” Texas Parks and Wildlife  Department said in a written statement at the time. “A United States  Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services trapper also evaluated the  evidence and came to the same conclusion as our staff."

Whiteley’s  body was found the afternoon of Dec. 3 in a heavily wooded area not far  from his home in the 15000 block of Howell Road, just southwest of  Lipan in far northwest Hood County near FM Road 4 and U.S. Highway 281,  close to Palo Pinto and Erath county lines. Authorities said he was last  seen the previous morning leaving his house around 7 a.m. He lacked a  car, so Whiteley would routinely walk through the woods to get a ride to  work.

Family  members reported him missing the next morning, and it was that  afternoon when officers, searching the wooded area, discovered his body.  Authorities said no animal tracks were found but said that could be  explained by a thick layer of leaves on the ground.

Mountain  lion sightings are not uncommon in North Texas. A week prior to  Whiteley’s death, a mountain lion was seen on video roaming an area near  Rowlett, east of Dallas and some 100 miles from Lipan. In March 2018, a  Graford teen struck and killed a mountain lion as it tried crossing  State Highway 337 north of Mineral Wells. Large cat tracks have been  found on area properties and in Lake Mineral Wells State Park.

Typically,  mountain lions, or cougars, will avoid human contact. They are known to  range and roam large areas of territory in search of food and are  generally active between dusk and dawn. They are large tan-colored cats  with whiteish chests and bellies and black markings on the tips of their  tails and ears and around their mouths. They are typically hard to  mistake for a bobcat or other large cats.  

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Yet another reason to carry a gun.

I once encountered a black bear last year while carrying a 9mm. If things would've went south, I had enough firepower to kill it.

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Yet another reason to carry a gun.

I once encountered a black bear last year while carrying a 9mm. If things would've went south, I had enough firepower to kill it.

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I was attacked by a couple cougars once

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Chances are, you will not know you are being attacked by a mountain lion until you feel a simultaneous vise on your head or neck and multiple knives digging into your back and shoulders.

I would want more than a 9 mm for a bear.

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While carrying a gun when walking about is not a bad idea, it might not prove useful against pumas.

The first inclination you will probably get of a cougar attacking you will be when he leaps on your back and goes for your neck.  Mountain lions are ambush predators, and very rarely seen before the attack is under way.

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I was attacked by a couple cougars once

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so for sake of argument, can we say a XD in .40 is the new mountain lion master gun/round?

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I'm aware of the nature of mountain lion attacks. That being said, they can still be fought off, in most circumstances

As for black bears, a 9mm will kill them easily. There are two instances here in Ohio where cops killed black bears with .40 S&W handguns. One was a one-shot-stop/headshot.

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Over 24 hours after the kill and the cat hadn’t started feeding or stashed the kill?

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While carrying a gun when walking about is not a bad idea, it might not prove useful against pumas.

The first inclination you will probably get of a cougar attacking you will be when he leaps on your back and goes for your neck.  Mountain lions are ambush predators, and very rarely seen before the attack is under way.

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I was attacked by a couple cougars once

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I was attacked by a couple cougars once

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While carrying a gun when walking about is not a bad idea, it might not prove useful against pumas.

The first inclination you will probably get of a cougar attacking you will be when he leaps on your back and goes for your neck.  Mountain lions are ambush predators, and very rarely seen before the attack is under way.

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Well, the number of attack victims greatly outnumbers the fatal victims, but I still wouldn't want to go hand to hand with a mountain lion.

The bears were probably standing in someone's back yard eating out of their garbage. Hardly an attack - high stress shooting situation.  Correct me if I am wrong about the incidences you mention.

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I was attacked by a couple cougars once

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Sounds like somebody tossed him in their pets cage and then dumped the body.

Screen name?

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While carrying a gun when walking about is not a bad idea, it might not prove useful against pumas.

The first inclination you will probably get of a cougar attacking you will be when he leaps on your back and goes for your neck.  Mountain lions are ambush predators, and very rarely seen before the attack is under way.

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Just from the article it kind of sounds like the cat did feed on him .

They first thought he died  of other causes ? what heart  attack maybe and they thought some animals fed on the dead body?

Article is a bit strange how it's written .

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Cougars never attack me

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Saw a news video about this. The local LE (sheriff, i think) were saying it was some sort of large predator, but the state game officials weren't. The sheriff said the victim's throat was mangled.

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A past acquaintance of mine used to hunt mountain lions that had preyed on cattle or sheep. Ranchers called him, he hunted with dogs, while he was horseback. Once treed by the dogs, he dispatched the cats with a .22 LR.

But that’s a lot different that being ambushed by a lion.

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always nice to take your dog along on such outings