Mountain lion attacks 5-year-old boy in Malibu park, witnesses say father wrestled beast with bare hands
A five-year-old boy was attacked by a puma while picnicking with his family at a campsite in a park.
The family was eating dinner at Malibu Creek State Park, west of Los Angeles, around 4:30 p.m. Sunday when the animal struck.
The animal grabbed the child’s head with its jaws and tried to run away with its prey, but the boy’s father managed to wrestle him free.
A five-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion while picnicking with his family at a park campsite (stock photo from the same park)
About 40 people who were at the campsite at the time were shocked when the puma brazenly walked into the busy area and attacked.
“Someone yelled the baby’s name and his father started running,” a witness said KTLA.
“The father grabbed the puma with his hands and he just fought. Then the puma let go.”
California State Park rangers, police and firefighters responded to the scene to rescue the boy, who had head and eye injuries.
The family was eating dinner at Malibu Creek State Park, west of Los Angeles, around 4:30 p.m. Sunday when the animal struck.
About 40 people who were at the campsite at the time were shocked when the puma brazenly walked into the busy area and attacked them.
He was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he was discharged Sunday evening, but was later returned to the hospital to be treated for complications.
The puma climbed a tree after the boy’s father and others chased it away. When rangers found it, it was still there.
The lion was considered a threat to public safety and was fatally shot by a park ranger.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife collected evidence and samples from the boy’s injuries and clothing and was able to compare them to the lion’s DNA.
