A mountain lion that attacked a 5-year-old boy in southern California has been shot and killed by a wildlife officer, authorities say.
The 65-pound (30kg) mountain lion attacked the boy while he was playing near his house on Thursday in Calabasas and “dragged him about 45 yards” across the front lawn, said Captain Patrick Foy, a spokesman with the California department of fish and wildlife, on Saturday.
The boy suffered significant injuries to his head and upper torso but was in a stable condition at a Los Angeles hospital, Foy said.
“The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son’s life,” Foy said. The mother was inside the house when she heard a commotion outside.
“She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son,” he said.
The parents immediately drove the boy to the hospital, where law enforcement were notified of the attack and sent a wildlife officer to the scene.
Once at the house, the officer discovered a mountain lion crouching in the bushes with its “ears back and hissing” at him, Foy said.
“Due to its behavior and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on sight,” the wildlife department said in a statement.
Subsequent DNA tests confirmed that the lion was the one responsible for attacking the child, the statement said.
Another mountain lion spotted in the area was tranquilised and then released into the wild unharmed after being tested to be sure it was not involved in the attack.
happylittleclouds4 on August 29th, 2021 at 21:42 UTC »
As a nanny in my late teens, I fought off a 70lb husky with my bare hands when it attacked the kids & I. I got bit on both of my hands, but I fucked that dog up and got it corralled into a separate space away from us. I didn’t even think, just started hitting, punching and kicking as it held on and bit my hands. Didn’t process the whole thing until the kids were safe, as I was bleeding I got them into the house and in front of a movie so I could figure out what to do next.
Barfed my guts outside on the lawn while the parents headed home, probably a result of adrenaline.
I wasn’t their mom, but my brain totally went into Lizard mode when I sensed children in animal danger and you just full on go into panic/attack/fight.
(And sadly the dog was experiencing a dangerous mental break and had to be killed, but wasn’t rabid luckily. Both my hands healed up just fine.)
goudausername on August 29th, 2021 at 14:45 UTC »
The article says the mountain lion was 65 lb. That has got to be a pretty young mountain lion. I wonder if it has lost its mother. Badass human mom for the win.
ursois on August 29th, 2021 at 11:22 UTC »
Never underestimate the power of an angry mother.