In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un, center right, his wife Ri Sol Ju, third left, and their daughter, center, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, visit Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)2026-01-02T03:26:39Z A woman was killed in a suspected mountain lion attack while she was hiking alone in the mountains of northern Colorado on Thursday, in what would be the first fatal attack by one of the predators in the state in more than 25 years, authorities said.Wildlife officers later in the day located two mountain lions in the area and fatally shot the animals, said Kara Van Hoose with Colorado Parks and Wildlife The attack occurred in the mountains south of the small community of Glen Haven, about 7 miles northeast of Estes Park and considered the gateway to the eastern entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. Shortly before noon, two hikers encountered a mountain lion near the womans body along a remote section of the Crosier Mountain trail, which is on a national forest.The hikers threw rocks at the animal to scare it from the immediate area so they could try to help the woman, Van Hoose said. One of the hikers was a physician who attended to the victim and did not find a pulse, she said. Details on the womans injuries and cause of death were not immediately released.Van Hoose said the search for other mountain lions in the area was ongoing. She said circumstances would dictate whether any additional lions that are found are killed. Sightings of mountain lions are common in the forested area where the suspected attack occurred, but there have not been any recent documented attacks on humans, Van Hoose said. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on This is a very common time of year to take mountain lion sightings and reports and especially in Larimer County, where this is very good mountain lion habitat, she said. Trails in this area are in pretty remote land, so its wooded, its rocky, theres elevation gains and dips. Mountain lion attacks are rare and Colorados last suspected fatal attack was in 1999, when a 3-year-old was killed. Two years before that, a 10-year-old boy was killed by a lion and dragged away while hiking with family members in Rocky Mountain National Park. Last year in Northern California two brothers were stalked and then attacked by a lion that they tried to fight off. One of the brothers was killed.The animals, also known as cougars, catamounts and other names, can weigh 130 pounds (60 kilograms) and grow to more than six feet (1.8meters) long1. They eat primarily deer. Colorado has an estimated 3,800-4,400 of the animals, which are classified as a big game species in the state and can be hunted. MATTHEW BROWN Brown is based in Billings, Montana. He covers breaking news, the environment, politics, energy, crime and more.