California wildlife officials said on Saturday that earlier this week, a cougar wounded a 5-year-old boy near Calabasas in Los Angeles County, and then they shot and killed a cougar.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the 65-pound puma attacked the boy on Thursday when he was in the front yard with injuries to his head, neck and upper body.
The department said that after the boy’s mother “beat the lion back many times to repel him”, the boy was taken to the hospital and his condition is stable.
Wildlife officials immediately began investigating the incident. During the “agreement cleanup” of the home yard, an official found “a fierce puma squatting in the corner of the house.”
The department said: “Due to its behavior and its proximity to the attack, the warden thought it was probably the lion that attacked. In order to protect public safety, he shot it on the spot.”
Ron Sanford
About 20 minutes later, two more cougars appeared, one with a collar around its neck. After confirming that the animal that attacked the boy did not have a collar, wildlife officials calmed down the other puma.
Officials collected DNA samples from dead and sedated animals and boys who were attacked.
“Wildlife forensic scientists analyzed the sample under the claws of the suspicious lion carcass and isolated traces of human tissue and blood. The DNA profile matched that of the young victim. In addition, a complete match was isolated from the victim’s shirt. The DNA of a lion is a corpse of a lion,” the department said.
Officials said, “The result is conclusive.” The lion that attacked the boy was the one shot at the scene.
In an interview with the Associated Press, department spokesperson Patrick Foy said that “the true hero of this story” was the boy’s mother because “she absolutely saved her son’s life.”
“Mother was in the house when she heard the commotion outside,” Foy said.
“She ran out of the house and started beating the mountain lion with her bare hands to get him off her son,” he added.
Foy pointed out that when the cougar attacked the boy, it “drew him about 45 yards” across the yard.
Thursday’s incident marked the first time in 25 years that Los Angeles County has confirmed that a mountain lion has attacked humans. News Channel KTLA report.
