A Californian mother saved the life of her five-year old son who had been snatched by a mountain lion that had attacked their home.
The lion is said to have attacked the five year old as he was playing near their house in Calabasas in California, US and dragged him about 45 yards across the front lawn.
The boy who is now stable and recuperating at a hospital in Los Angeles suffered significant traumatic injuries on his head and upper torso.
“The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son’s life,” Capt. Patrick Foy a spokesman with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
According to Foy, the mother was inside the house when she heard a commotion outside.
“She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son,” he said.
Immediately after being saved from the lion’s grip, the boy was rushed to the hospital and police officers notified of the animal’s attack.
A wildlife officer was then sent to the scene of the incident and found the lion crouching in the bushes with its ears back and hissing at him.
“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,” the wildlife department said in a statement.
The statement further said that DNA tests done on the lion confirmed it was responsible for attacking the child.
Another mountain lion was also spotted in the area. The lion was tranqulized and tested to confirm if it also had been involved in attacking the young boy. Since it had not been involved with the attack, it was released to the wilderness unharmed.
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