Man survives attack by mountain lion in Palo Alto

<p>An animal tracker is hunting for a mountain lion that attacked a hiker in a Palo Alto park over the weekend.</p><p>Palo Alto officials hired the private tracker after a mountain lion jumped on a 50-year-old man as he hiked through Foothills Park late Saturday afternoon.</p><p>A Palo Alto police spokesman says the Portola Valley man escaped uninjured after the cat jumped on him from above, hitting him about shoulder height and sending him rolling down the slope toward a creek.</p><p>When the man stopped tumbling, the lion rolled past him and scampered away.</p><p>After the attack, officials closed Foothills Park and the adjacent Pearson-Arastradero Preserve until further notice.</p>