Man claims attack by lion, saved by a bear
There's
something you don't see every day:
[Man claims attack by lion, saved by a bear by Trevor Warner] "A Paradise man
says he is lucky to be alive after an attack by a mountain lion Monday morning.
Robert Biggs, 69, often hikes in the Bean Soup Flat area, which is about a mile
and a half above Whisky Flats. He came across a mother bear, a yearling and a
newborn, which were about 40 feet from where he was standing.
After watching the bear family for a few minutes he decided to leave them be and
turned to walk back up the trail. As he turned, a mountain lion pounced on him
grabbing hold of his backpack with all four paws.
"They usually grab hold of your head with all four paws, but my backpack was up
above my head and (the mountain lion) grabbed it instead," Biggs said. "It must
have been stalking the little bear, but it was on me in seconds."
He wrestled with the cat, striking it in the head with a rock pick. The cat
screamed when it was hit with the pick, but didn't let go, Biggs said. Before he
knew it, the mother bear came from behind and pounced on the cat, tearing its
grip from the backpack.
The bear and the cat battled for about 15 seconds, Biggs said, until the cat
finally ran away. The bear went on its way as well. Biggs ended up with bite
marks, scratches and bruises to his arm, but was otherwise uninjured..." Full
test:
Man claims attack by lion, saved by a bear
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house,
and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him [Amos 5:19].
"Amos is one of the most dramatic preachers that you will find in Scripture. He
uses such figurative language. He uses the idiom of the earth and draws his
illustrations from nature. Here he describes a man who is out in the woods, and
suddenly there is a lion on the trail in back of him. As he runs away from the
lion, he sees a bear coming toward him. In other words, if you say you want the
Lord to come so that you can get out of your troubles down here, it may be like
jumping out of the frying pan into the fire (to use an adage of our day). Seeing
the bear coming toward him, the man takes off over the hill and reaches his
home. He puts his hand upon the wall to rest and get his breath, only to have a
serpent come out of the wall and bite him. It might have been better if the lion
or the bear had gotten him than to have the poison of a serpent in him!
Amos is saying that we had better be very careful about the life we are living
for God down here. As believers, our salvation is not in jeopardy—Christ has
paid the penalty for our sins, but if our sins as believers are not dealt with
and made right, He will make them right. My friend, He must do that—He is holy
and righteous and just, and heaven is a place where things are right. Therefore,
you and I will have to be right when we get there. This is something that a
great many people do not realize today." McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible
Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 3:708
