On Tuesday, a five-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion in northern California when his mother stepped in to save him.
The boy was transported to a medical facility on Tuesday after the attack was carried out. The attack happened right before seven o’clock in the evening in San Mateo county in California, the sheriff’s department reportedly said. Officials said the boy was not conscious when he was taken to receive medical care.
The boy’s mother and grandfather were accompanying him on a hike when a mountain lion attacked him, forcing him to the ground, authorities with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DWF) reportedly stated.
His mother saved his life by grabbing him and bringing him out of harm’s way. A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the young child was going to be “okay” but had puncture injuries. The DWF noted that the mountain lion was gnawing on the child.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is looking into the mountain lion attack, according to authorities, per the San Francisco Chronicle. They will also be speaking with the boy’s mother and taking a sample of the animal’s DNA from his clothes to see if they catch the right mountain lion.
Game personnel were in the region on Wednesday searching for the mountain lion with the plan “to capture and remove the animal.”
The San Francisco ABC News affiliate spoke to a person who lives close by to where the attack took place and he said he was the first one to arrive at the location.
“They were pretty calm when I pulled up, they’re my neighbors so I asked them if they were okay. They were very … they were good. They said everybody’s fine, but they had to talk to fish and game, and a warden pulled up right as I pulled out,” Chad Conover said. “Typically the mountain lions avoid people, so it’s not often you hear about an attack on a human.”
He said the child was on the rear side of the property, which was a house where his parent was working.
“Our coastal community had endured so much these past few weeks. Our entire agency is saddened of this news and sends many warm wishes to the child for a speedy and full recovery,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus reportedly stated. “Our thoughts are with the family at this time.”
In the fall of last year, a mountain lion bit a seven-year-old boy in southern California, but the boy’s father scared it off. The boy received treatment for relatively non-serious injuries.
Mountain lions attacking people are not common and are often not deadly. There were just 64 authenticated mountain lion attacks from 1890 until 1994, but by 2022, there have now been 126 such attacks.