A young Colorado boy is lucky to have survived a rare mountain lion attack after his mother bravely fought off a cougar that had pounced on the five-year-old child. Hearing his screams, his mother came outside and physically removed her son out of the lion’s mouth with her bare hands.
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Buglione said “She grabbed a paw and lifted it up, and put her right hand in its mouth to pry the boy out of its mouth so the boy could get free”.
The boy suffered face, head and neck injuries, but is in fair condition in hospital.
Pitkin County sheriff’s deputies and a Forest Service Ranger were the first to arrive and killed the lion believed to be responsible for the attack after they found it wandering near the home.
The last known mountain lion attack in the state happened in July 2015 when a young animal attacked a man as he fished in a remote area in northwest Colorado, the wildlife department said.
The father of the boy then drove his family to Aspen Valley Hospital.
CPW officials have cautioned the public that lion sightings are increasing across Colorado, likely due to a growing human population encroaching on lion habitat in conjunction with a robust lion population in the state. “If you have deer, there is a good chance you’ll find mountain lions”.
She ran outside, saw her son struggling with the animal and rushed to his aid.
The CPW website reports that the mountain lion which attacked the young boy might have been killed.
A 5-year-old boy is recovering in a Denver hospital after being attacked by a mountain lion, officials said.
Since 1991, there have been three fatal mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado, KMGH reported.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife management take a much more measured approach when it comes to mountain lions. The Chicago Tribune reported that the other male mountain lion has also been tracked down and killed. “Maintain eye contact and do all you can to appear larger”, NPS advises.
