A mountain lion attacked a 4-year-old girl from Rexburg, Idaho, on August 12.
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Kelsi Butt was camping with her family near the Green Canyon Hot Springs in Newdale when the lion grabbed her and tried to carry the girl away.
He said that the girl woke up “because she lost her shoe and that’s when the big cat grabbed her”, according to the Idaho State Journal. “We thought it was passing through, but now we know it was actually stalking the kids because they had come up for dinner”, she said. She explained, saying, “They see the target as prey, or they attack to protect a kill or a cache”.
“It could have gone the other way so easily”.
Israel and Kera’s 4-year-old daughter Kelsi was on the way with her 10-year-old cousin, who was holding another 2-year-old cousin.
But the group didn’t think much of it, thinking Kera had mistook the cat for a wolf or other animal. The family mentioned that they had seen the mountain lion earlier in the day.
‘I kept kissing her with gratitude and love, finally she said, “Grandma, quit kissing me”‘.
As the adults approached the mountain lion, the cat dropped Kelsi and ran away. While there, she was treated for minor cuts and scratches. “He wanted to kill something”, Kera Butt said. “You really have to keep your eyes open when you’re out camping”, he told East Idaho News.
The family left the campsite and took their daughter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
Meanwhile, officers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game were called and deputies with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office responded to the campsite as Kelsi’s grandfather stood guard with a shotgun. “Kelsi was in the tent when the animal attacked her”.
Mountain Lion attacks are rare, according to Idaho Fish & Game spokesman Gregg Losinski. Don’t run, crouch or bend over, and if a mountain lion appears aggressive people are encouraged to make themselves appear bigger by opening jackets and waving their arms, the National Park Service says.
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“This family showed how vigilance and quick thinking can help avert a tragedy”, it adds.
