A five-year-old boy sustained serious injuries after being attacked by a mountain lion, which mauled him and dragged him away by his head.
The incident occurred at Malibu Creek State Park in California on Sunday, September 1, while the boy was playing with other children. The mountain lion approached and clamped its jaws around the boy’s head, pulling him into the nearby woods.
“It was enormous. The mountain lion was completely fearless,” the boy’s aunt told KTLA. At the time of the attack, approximately 40 people were present in the picnic area at Tapia Park.
As the boy and bystanders screamed for help, his father bravely intervened, fighting the mountain lion with his bare hands to rescue his son. The aunt recounted that someone called out the boy’s name, prompting his father to rush towards the scene. The father managed to wrestle the mountain lion and force it to release the boy.
The boy was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where his injuries were deemed non-life-threatening. He suffered significant cuts and scratches to his face, and there was damage to his eyes from the attack.
Following the incident, the mountain lion was located in the area and was found perched in a tree. State Parks rangers, after arriving on the scene, determined that the animal posed a continuing threat to public safety and subsequently euthanized it.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that DNA from the mountain lion matched samples taken from the boy’s wounds and clothing, verifying that the correct animal was killed.
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California State Parks is conducting an investigation into the attack. According to their statement, rangers and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the mountain lion attack at Malibu Creek State Park on September 1 at 4:21 p.m.
The statement detailed that a family from Woodland Hills, including at least six adults and several children, was picnicking when the mountain lion attacked the young boy.
One or more adults intervened, causing the lion to release the child. Witnesses reported seeing the mountain lion climb a nearby tree, where it remained until rangers arrived. After consulting with wildlife officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the decision was made to euthanize the lion due to the threat it posed to public safety.
Wildlife officers collected evidence from the boy’s injuries and clothing, which was later confirmed to match the mountain lion by CDFW’s Wildlife Forensic Lab. Officials expressed relief that the family is safe, the child is recovering, and no other individuals were injured.