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Woman Mauled by Lion Tells of Ordeal

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Times Staff Writer

In her first public appearance since being seriously mauled by a mountain lion at an Orange County wilderness park four months ago, Anne Hjelle told a rapt audience at Crystal Cathedral on Sunday about the struggle for her life -- harrowing moments captured in slow motion in her mind.

“There was a flash of movement over my right shoulder,” Hjelle, 30, recalled of the Jan. 8 attack that occurred while she was riding a mountain bike at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.

“I saw reddish-brown fur, and something grabbed hold of me. I knew immediately what it was. He grabbed my shoulders with his claws and attached his jaws to the back of my neck.”

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Hjelle was riding that day with a group of fellow Christian riders called Trail Angels when the lion pulled her from her bike and dragged her into a nearby ravine.

“My first words were ‘Jesus, help me,’ ” she said.

Within seconds, fellow rider Debi Nichols grabbed Hjelle’s legs and refused to let go, in a tug-of-war with the lion. Eventually -- Hjelle said the interval seemed like about two minutes -- other riders arrived and threw rocks at the lion until it let go.

Officials determined that the same animal had killed another mountain-biker, Mark J. Reynolds, 35, of Foothill Ranch, earlier the same day. “It was like slow motion,” Hjelle said. “I kept going back and forth between ‘Is this real, or is it a nightmare?’ I thought of my husband ... I could feel my face rip away.... [The lion] got me by the front of the throat and choked me until I passed out.”

After spending several weeks in the hospital, Hjelle said she is now making a “really good recovery” and has some feeling in her face.

At one point during Sunday’s service, she showed the congregation deep scars on the left side of her face and neck. Doctors told her that some of the lion’s bites came within millimeters of her spinal cord and carotid arteries.

“The wounds were extremely severe,” she said. “It’s an absolute miracle that I’m here today.”

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