Mom fights mountain lion with bare hands to save 5-year-old, California officials say

[sl8]

https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article253829283.html

Mom fights mountain lion with bare hands to save 5-year-old, California officials say

BY DON SWEENEY
UPDATED AUGUST 29, 2021 11:12 AM

A Southern California mom hearing a disturbance outside Thursday morning found a 65-pound mountain lion dragging her 5-year-old son across her front yard, wildlife officers say.

“She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son,” Capt. Patrick Foy, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman, told the Associated Press.

“The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son’s life,” Foy said. The boy is hospitalized in stable condition with injuries to his head and torso.

A wildlife officer later shot and killed the mountain lion after finding it hiding on a corner of the Calabasas property, the department said in a press release.

DNA tests confirmed it was the same mountain lion that attacked the boy, the release said.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

1. Yikes.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. Pretty good story, but I hate that the cougar died at the end (nt)

[marybourg]

7. The cougar had to die.

He had identified a human as prey. He'd do it again. There might not be a mom right nearby next time. We prioritize our own species.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

9. Thanks, but I'm still going to cry myself to sleep, have nightmares, and wake up sad tomorrow (nt)

[stopdiggin]

11. is this kind of an 'Old Yeller' moment? -(nt)-

[Hugh_Lebowski]

12. Exactly like that ;) nt

[Hortensis]

4. Of course she fought it with the bare hands she had. She's a mother.

I'm so glad she saved her child.

[StarryNite]

5. The mom definitely is a hero.

I hope her little one makes a full recovery. I hate stories where wildlife turns on humans. They are just trying to survive. It never ends well for the critter but sometimes there is only one thing that can be done. It's just a sad scenario for all. Thankfully the mom was successful in defending her little one.

[Devil Child]

6. Don't mess with mom!

[Goonch]

8. ;-{)

[Joinfortmill]

10. Mother love can be fierce to behold.

[samnsara]

13. a mama bear vs a cougar. No match.

[msongs]

14. maybe from now on she will supervise her child nt

[ShazzieB]

21. That was cold. And completely unnecessary.

How do you know she wasn't supervising him? That's right, you don't! You just made an assumption based on nothing at all. An assumption I find very unkind and unfair, if not downright mean-spirited. Look at what this woman went through to save her child's life, after seeing him almost get killed right before her eyes!

I read this comment earlier tonight and decided to pass on commenting. Just saw it again and decided I had to say something. That's how much it bothered me.

[msongs]

23. from the article - hearing a disturbance outside. she was inside the child was outside.

she ran out of the house and saw what was going on. she was inside, the child was outside..

the article does not say while she was outside with her child the child was attacked.

[ShazzieB]

25. I stand corrected.

Still seems cold to me, though. That woman has been through absolute hell. Cut her some slack.

Also, there are a lot of details we don't have. Like how long was he alone out there? Maybe she just ducked into the house for a moment. Maybe he ran outside when she turned her back for a second or two. The point is, we don't KNOW.

I'm just not a fan of assuming that every single misfortune that happens to a kid is due to parental negligence. It's amazing what can happen in the literal blink of an eye. I know I dodged a bullet or two when my daughter was growing up. Not because I was negligent, but because I'm a fallible human being, and contrary to popular mythology, I did not actually acquire an extra set of eyes in the back of my head when I became a mom.

I was lucky. The few times when something awful could have happened to my daughter, it didn't. This mom wasn't so lucky, but in the end, she saved her child's life in a situation against some pretty long odds, and I think she deserves credit for that.

[Ziggysmom]

15. I feel bad for the cat. We invaded their lands. People living in Calabasas have been told

repeatedly NOT to leave children and pets alone outdoors. Mom ran out of the house, indicating the child was alone outside.

[calimary]

18. I can sympathize.

Many mixed feelings. Grateful the child was rescued and that mom wasn’t badly hurt. Sad that a beautiful (although deadly) animal had to die, though, gotta admit.

[meadowlander]

22. Five year olds don't always do as they're told.

Parents sometimes need to use the bathroom, change clothes, clean up broken glass, answer the phone for a second or get food on the table.

We don't know how long the kid was out there, what Mom was doing, did she ask someone else to watch him for a second, was he autistic or intellectually disabled?

Without any of the facts, it's better not to leap to judgement particularly on people who just survived a horrific experience.

[lastlib]

16. Cougars are the perfect killing machine.

For a human to attack one bare-handed and come back uninjured is an accomplishment.

I wouldn't want to tangle with one, but if forced to, I guess I'd give it a go. If fighting my little kitty (a killer of merit in her own right) is any guide, I'd want to force my fist down its throat as far as possible and maybe grab its tonsils, so it can't bite down. And hang on for dear life!

[dalton99a]

17. More details:

https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/mountain-lion-dispatched-after-attack-near-calabasas

Mountain Lion Dispatched After Attack Near Calabasas
August 28, 2021

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) confirmed that a mountain lion shot and killed by a wildlife officer was the one responsible for injuring a five-year-old boy Thursday near Calabasas in Los Angeles County. The boy is in stable condition.

On Aug 26, 2021, approximately 10:45 a.m., a 65-lb. mountain lion attacked the boy in his front yard, inflicting wounds to his head, neck and upper torso. The boy’s mother fended off the lion by striking it multiple times. The boy’s parents transported him to a hospital where he was treated for his injuries. He remains in the hospital in stable condition.

Upon learning of the attack, CDFW’s law enforcement division immediately began an investigation both interviewing the victim’s family in the hospital and visiting the scene of the attack. During a protocol clearing of the family’s yard, the wildlife officer at the home discovered an aggressive mountain lion crouched in the corner of the property. 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 site.

Approximately 20 minutes after he shot the mountain lion, two more mountain lions appeared. One was a full-grown adult with a radio collar around its neck. The other was a smaller mountain lion about the same 65-lb. size as the dispatched lion. After confirming with the boy’s mother that the attacking lion did not have a collar, the wildlife officer used a non-lethal tranquilizing rifle to capture the other non-collared lion.

DNA samples from the dispatched lion, the tranquilized lion and the child were collected and sent to CDFW’s Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Sacramento. Wildlife Forensics Scientists analyzed samples from underneath the claws of the suspect lion carcass and isolated traces of human tissue and blood with a DNA profile that matched the young victim. Additionally, a full lion DNA profile was isolated from the victim’s shirt that matched the profile of the lion carcass. Results were conclusive that it was the attacking lion that was shot by the wildlife officer on scene. The second lion that was tranquilized was excluded from any profiles that would affiliate it with the attack.

After coordination with the National Park Service (NPS), the adult collared lion was identified as P-54, a female mountain lion who is part of an NPS mountain lion study. P-54 is known to have birthed cubs in October 2020 and has no known human-wildlife conflicts in her history. She was not captured and her collar reading showed she has since vacated the neighborhood.

In coordination with NPS, the non-offending tranquilized lion was collared and released in proximity to P-54 into the nearest suitable habitat.

###

Media Contacts:
Capt. Patrick Foy, CDFW Law Enforcement Division, [phone]
Jordan Traverso, CDFW Communications, [phone]

[sl8]

19. Thanks for the update. n/t

[GeoWilliam750]

20. A mountain lion attacked my grandmother

She turned it into a nice hand muff

[PlanetBev]

24. I live 10 minutes west of Calabasas

No shortage of critters out here. It’s as dry as a bone and everything imaginable is coming down the hills looking for food and water.

Glad the little one is ok. I have two young grand nieces and I believe I could turn a mountain lion into a pelt.