Wildlife officers have killed a mountain lion that attacked a 5-year-old boy in southern California, authorities said.
On Thursday in Calabasas, a 65-pound (30kg) mountain lion attacked the youngster while he was playing near his house and dragged him about 45 yards across the front lawn, said Captain Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The youngster had major head and upper torso injuries but was in stable condition at a Los Angeles hospital.
‘The true heroine of the story is his mom as she bravely saved her son’s life. 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,’ Foy added.
The boy’s parents rushed him to the hospital, where law enforcement was alerted about the attack and they dispatched a wildlife officer to the spot. When the police arrived at the residence, the officer spotted a mountain lion crouching in the bushes.
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‘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.
According to the statement, DNA tests confirmed that the dead lion was the one who attacked the child. Another mountain lion seen in the area was tranquillized and released into the wild forest unharmed after being tested to ensure it was not involved in the attack.
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