A group of Washington state women wrestled their friend out of the jaws of a cougar after the animal encountered and attacked them while they were on a biking trip.

The women recently shared details of the cougar’s attack and their friend’s dramatic rescue for the first time in an interview with the Seattle NBC affiliate KING-TV.

Competitive cyclist Keri Bergere suffered severe head and neck injuries from the near fatal attack on 17 February in the Fall City area, according to a statement from the Washington department of fish and wildlife (WDFW).

In their interview with KING-TV, Bergere, Annie Bilotta, and Tisch Williams said that they were biking along the Tokul Creek trails when a pair of cougars jumped out of nearby bushes. One of the cats, a 75lb male cougar, dragged Bergere from her bike and held her face in its jaw.

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“The cougars ran out from the brush on the right side of the road and they kind of ran between the two groups of us, and one went up into the woods and the other one changed his mind and decided to tackle Keri,” Bilotta said.

The women told KING-TV that the attack happened so fast that they didn’t have a chance to try to scare the cougar off.

Bilotta and Williams quickly jumped into action, attempting to get the cougar off Bergere.

“I immediately tried to choke the cougar, which was like trying to choke a rock,” Bilotta said. “Then, Erica and Tisch come over with sticks and a rock, and we’re hand-to-hand combat battling this thing.”

After about 15 minutes, the cougar slightly loosened its grip on Bergere, allowing her to escape from its jaw. The entire ordeal lasted about 45 minutes.

The other cyclists managed to pin a bike on top of the cat until emergency responders arrived.

“Keri’s just laying there by herself and we kept saying, ‘Are you doing OK?’ And she would just give us a bloody thumbs up that she was doing OK,” Williams said.

A WDFW officer shot the cougar. Officers were unable to locate the second cat.

Bergere was rushed to an area hospital, where she spent five days receiving treatment for her injuries. She is still physically recovering from the attack, according to a GoFundMe page set up in her benefit.

“I’m so grateful, and I know how much I owe these ladies, and they’re always going to be my family moving forward,” Bergere said to KING-TV of her rescuers.

The situation with which Bergere and her friends grappled is rare. During the last century in Washington state, two people have died as a result of cougar attacks, with only 20 other reported encounters leading to human injuries, according to the WDFW.

At the time of the attack, WDFW called the actions of Bergere’s rescuers “heroic”.

“The people on scene took immediate action to render aid, and one of our officers was able to arrive within minutes to continue medical aid and coordinate transport. We may have had a very different outcome without their heroic efforts,” WDFW said in a statement.