‘Two brothers driven by nature’: family pays tribute to victims of cougar attack
Relatives of a 21-year-old man who was mauled to death by a mountain lion that also wounded his younger brother over the weekend in California are grateful that they didn’t lose both siblings – but they are also heartbroken that the rare attack tore apart a pair who shared a remarkably tight bond, according to a family statement.
Before respectively dying and being badly injured in what was California’s first fatal cougar-on-person attack in two decades, Taylen Robert Claude Brooks and 18-year-old Wyatt Jay Charles Brooks were “close as any two brothers could be” and fought their animal assailant fiercely as they desperately attempted to save each other, their family and authorities said in an emotional statement released jointly.
“A brother is a friend given by nature. These two brothers were driven by nature,” said the statement, which recounted how Taylen and Wyatt hunted, fished and generally spent time in the outdoors together daily in El Dorado county before Saturday afternoon’s deadly animal attack.
“We are all devastated by the tragic loss of Taylen yet thankful Wyatt is still with us and are well aware the outcome could have been even worse.”
The Brooks family’s comments on Monday coincided with the El Dorado county sheriff’s office sharing its fullest account yet of Taylen’s death at the hands of a mountain lion.
Deputies said Taylen and Wyatt went to woods near the community of Georgetown in search of shed antlers, an activity that they often engaged in at the start of spring, before grass grew too tall to let them do so effectively.
At one point, the brothers, who were unarmed, saw a mountain lion walk up the road from the lower side and approach them. They did as officials advise to do in such encounters – they raised their hands in the air to appear larger, yelled at the cougar and Wyatt even threw his backpack at the animal.
But the mountain lion did not retreat. It charged Wyatt, bit down on his face, and brought him to the ground, deputies said.
Taylen beat the cougar and continued yelling at it, giving Wyatt the opportunity to wrestle the animal down and get on top of it. But the cougar forced itself free of Wyatt’s grip by clawing at his midsection.
The animal then got up, turned its attention to Taylen, charged at him and bit him in the throat.
Wyatt, with “severe lacerations to his face”, again beat the cougar and grabbed it in hopes of freeing Taylen. Yet he was unable, so Wyatt turned his efforts to calling 911 for emergency help.
There was inadequate cell service in the area, so he sprinted to where they had parked their car and finally reached first responders. Wyatt then drove the car to where he had left Taylen to see if he could at least scare the cougar. But when Wyatt got there, neither Taylen nor the animal were there.
Wyatt subsequently drove to meet deputies, who gave him first aid while awaiting medics, the sheriff ’s office said. The medics took Wyatt to a local hospital to undergo reconstructive surgery to his face and neck, and by Monday he had been discharged to recover at home.
Concurrently, deputies rushed to the area where Wyatt said the mountain lion had attacked him and his brother. They arrived to find the cougar crouched over Taylen and fired what were essentially warning shots to scare the animal away. Deputies said they could not fire at the animal and risk hitting Taylen because at that point they couldn’t tell if he was alive or dead.
The cougar did run off, and they realized Taylen had been killed.
Fish and wildlife agents as well as a county animal trapper later came and tracked the cougar down about 100 yards away from where Taylen’s body was found and ultimately retrieved. The cougar had climbed up a tree, and – without elaborating – authorities said they euthanized the animal.
Officials said they then collected the cougar’s carcass “for further examination” as they sought to better understand the circumstances of the deadly attacked.
The Brooks family, meanwhile, said it was now focused on supporting Wyatt’s medical recovery.
Wyatt was enrolled in a local fire
fighter academy, his family said. He aspires to eventually join the state department of forestry and fire protection, colloquially known as Cal Fire. And he had also been an avid baseball player and bow hunting enthusiast before his brother’s death.
The Brooks family also shared how Taylen made his living painting houses with his father. He also cut firewood, was a talented guitar player and had a reputation as “a very kind and gentle soul”, his family said.
“Taylen … will be deeply missed by all who knew him,” the Brooks family said.
The El Dorado community foundation has asked the public to consider contributing to a fundraising campaign meant to support Wyatt’s recuperation as well as honoring Taylen’s memory.
Despite Saturday’s horrific circumstances, officials have emphasized how rare it is for a cougar to kill a person.
The last time a person in California had been killed by a mountain lion was in 2004, according to state data. And 1994 was the last time a mountain lion had killed a person in El Dorado, about 50 miles (80km) north-east of Sacramento.