5-Year-Old Suffers ‘Significant’ Injuries After Mountain Lion Attack

A 5-year-old boy is recovering after being attacked by a mountain lion at a family picnic at a California park. The animal was euthanized by a wildlife ranger shortly after the incident.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) detailed the incident in a release shared via its official Facebook page on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

The agency stated in its release that California State Park rangers and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to a mountain lion attack at Malibu Creek State Park at 4:21 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1.

A Woodland Hills family of six adults and a handful of children were at the park when the attack happened.

“The children were playing in the immediate vicinity of the family’s picnic table when a mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy, causing significant but non-life-threatening injuries,” the CDFW added.

Multiple adults intervened and “charged the lion” until it “released the boy,” the release said. Bystanders saw the attack and watched as the mountain lion climbed a tree, where it stayed until State Parks rangers got to the scene.

CDFW wildlife officers, National Park Service personnel and Los Angeles Fire and Rescue also responded.

The wildlife officers decided that the mountain lion was “a threat to public safety” and a ranger used a firearm to euthanize the animal. The child was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries. He was discharged early Monday, Sept. 2.

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Capt. Patrick Foy, of the CDFW, said the mountain lion grabbed the victim by his head, according to NBC Los Angeles.

The child’s aunt, who spoke anonymously, detailed the moments the child was attacked, telling KTLA, “Somebody screamed the baby’s name, and his dad started running. The father grabbed the mountain lion with his hands, and he just fought. Then the mountain lion let go.” 

The CDFW noted that wildlife officers also reached out to the boy’s family while he was at the hospital to collect evidence such as the bite and scratch wounds he sustained as well as the clothes he was wearing during the attack.

“Those evidence samples were confirmed a DNA match by CDFW’s Wildlife Forensic Lab in Sacramento,” the CDFW said, adding that, “CDFW and State Parks officials are thankful that the family is safe, and the child is recovering and no one else was injured.”

California State Parks is investigating the incident, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

A mountain lion attack on a human occurs when “direct physical contact between a human and a mountain lion resulting in physical injury or death to the person,” per the CDFW’s website.

The agency stated that there were just over 20 mountain lion attacks on humans in California between March 1986 to March of this year.