A four-year-old boy survived being attacked by a mountain lion in San Diego, California. It happened in the seven-mile long Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, one of the largest urban parks in the nation.
The attack took place in the middle of the afternoon while the boy was hiking with a group of 10 others. According to KGTV-TV, the boy’s father kicked the animal and threw a rock at it to eventually scare it away. The boy received head injuries and went to the hospital where he was treated and released two days later.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens found the female mountain lion one day after the attack and euthanized it. They say the mountain lion was not scared of them.
Wildlife managers are not allowed to use hunting as a tool to manage mountain lions since Californians approved a hunting ban in 1990.
KGTV-TV reports there have been 15 verified attacks on humans, not yet including this one, in California since 1986.
(Photo source: California Department of Fish and Wildlife)