MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — A mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy at a popular Southern California park over the weekend, and state game wardens later euthanized the feline, authorities said Tuesday.
The boy was attacked Sunday afternoon while playing near his family’s picnic table at Malibu Creek State Park west of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“One or more adults attacked the puma and it released the child,” the statement said. “Several witnesses saw the attack and observed the puma climb a nearby tree.”
The boy was airlifted to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, the statement said. He was released Monday.
The cougar remained in the tree until state foresters arrived, who determined the animal was a threat to the public. It was euthanized with a firearm, authorities said.
Mountain lions rarely attack humans. There have been about 20 confirmed attacks in California in more than a century of record-keeping, the Fish and Wildlife Department said earlier this year.
In March, two adult brothers who were attacked, one fatally, by a mountain lion in Northern California tried to chase it away when they noticed it was stalking them, then fought the animal when it charged at them.
In September 2023, a seven-year-old boy was bitten by a mountain lion while walking with his father near dusk in a park near Santa Clara, north of Los Angeles. The father chased the animal away, and the boy was treated for relatively minor injuries.
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2024-09-05 15:25:15