According to The Associated Press, the boy was playing with his brother outside their home in Pitkin County, near Aspen, on Friday when the mountain lion attacked. The mother said she grabbed one of the lion’s paws and worked on prying the mountain lion’s mouth open to free her son’s head, the BBC reports.
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He says the boy suffered deep cuts to his face, head and neck and was taken to a Denver hospital.
The mother, whose name has not yet been released by the authorities, had to act fast.
Wildlife officials killed two mountain lions in the area within several hours of the attack.
“Lion attacks on people are rare, with fewer than a dozen fatalities in North America in more than 100 years”, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said. The woman ran outside, saw the mountain lion on top of her child, fought off the animal and pulled her son out of its grip.
“She was able to pry the cat’s jaws open”, Deputy Michael Buglione told The Aspen Times. His mother has been released from the hospital, KMGH reported.
Between talking to the father and mother, Buglione said he and another deputy met a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer at the scene of the attack and spotted the cat under the tree where the father said it would be.
“Make them uncomfortable; we want them to have a fear of humans and that’s their best chance at remaining wild”, said Matt Robbins with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The mountain lion was estimated to be about 2 years old and not fully grown.
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Investigators are also looking into reports of a second mountain lion in the area earlier in the day. Anyone who encounters a lion or see an attack, he or she can immediately contact the Division of Wildlife, Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm. “If you have deer, there is a good chance you’ll find mountain lions”. That lion, who was a year old, was reportedly tracked and killed by authorities.
