A 65-year-old Californian woman has saved the life of her husband, 70, by fighting off an attacking mountain lion with a small log and his pen. Jim and Nell Hamm were walking in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park when the cougar wrestled Jim to the ground. Nell started hitting the animal with the log but it kept hold of Jim's head. She then tried to stick the pen in its eye. The cougar eventually let go. Mr Hamm is in fair condition after having his lips stitched back together. He also suffered scalp lacerations and puncture wounds. "She saved his life, there's no doubt," said Steve Martarano, spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game.
The park, 320 miles (515km) north of San Francisco, was closed after the incident and wardens tracked down and killed a pair of lions near the trail where the attack happened.