Not in Colorado Springs, there weren't. Only two people have ever been killed by a lion in all of Colorado during all of recorded history. A ten-year-old kid in Rocky Mountain National Park, in 1997, and a jogger in Idaho Springs, in 1991, were the victims. Neither was deep in the back country.
I think you're much more likely to get whacked near civilization than way out in the woods, just because the cats are getting habituated to man. Territoriality pushes cats toward cities. Be a lot more afraid mountain biking or running on the edge of town than way out in the woods.
I've found tracks in the snow and mud where a cat was watching me. 6" in diameter(it was in a soft surface, but still). Gave me the willies. Right outside of Colorado Springs.
The best reason to take a dog is that the cat will tend to focus on the dog as a potential meal, giving you a chance to shoot it. The worst reason to take a dog is that they attract cats ... Better no dog if you're not packing heat.
Gordon
I am a Colorado native. I used to love seeing cougars when I lived there. It was a rare event several decades ago. I never was concerned about lions, or bears, while living there. What I was concerned about was lightning. You haven't lived until you are hiking along the divide and a thunderstorm starts up! Now that's scary.
Ah yes, the infamouse badass dogs. Some people still think there are dogs capable of taking on a cougar. What dreamers. Our moose regularly stomp dogs of all sizes to death up here. It is no contest. Maybe the ancient Molossus dogs, which weigh upwards of 400lbs, could take a cougar, but that breed is extinct.
I agree completely with your view on dogs in the wilderness. They are more of a liability than an asset. The worst thing that happens is when your dog chases an animal, then gets frightened and RUNS BACK TO YOU with the enraged animal right behind it.
Cougars aren't the only NA preditor that stalks humans. Hunters, stalking brown bears, tell stories of bears circling back around behind them and stalking THEM. It is amazing how quiet and sneaky a 1500lb, (or more), bear can be. While a cougar may calculate it's odds of successfully attacking a human,(or dog), without injuring itself, most bears have no such worries. They know they can take you, and, as the wicked witch said, "Your little dog too!"
The good thing about some animals is that many aren't that tough. Cats and moose for instance, can be taken down by reletively small caliber rounds. Other animals, like cape buffalo and bears, can be very hard to bring down.
Don't even mention bringing a knife to a cougar/bear fight.
