A six-year-old girl who was injured after a mountain lion attacked her as she was walking through a California park was saved after a nearby adult punched the animal.
It happened on Sunday around 10 a.m. at Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve in Santa Clara County. The victim was walking with her family in a group consisting of six adults and four children, themselves included, when a mountain lion jumped out of the bushes and attacked the girl, reported ABC News.
“It came out of the bushes and right about when it grabbed a hold of the girl and an adult pushed the mountain lion and it ran off,” said MidPeninsula Regional Open Space District ranger, Brad Pennington.
The girl was reportedly walking close to the three other children when the attack happened, and an adult who was part of the group quickly acted by punching the mountain lion, causing it to run off.
“It came out of the bushes and right about when it grabbed a hold of the girl and an adult pushed the mountain lion and it ran off,” said Pennington. He added that the mountain lion was able to injure the girl’s calfs before the animal was pushed off of the six-year-old, CBS San Francisco reported.
“Right now she has minor injuries. A couple of puncture wounds to her calf. She was also treated for minor first aid and then her parents took her to the hospital,” Pennington said, according to ABC News. She is expected to fully recover.
According to the outlet, the Santa Clara County Sheriff Office and the Fire Department also responded to the scene and an investigation is underway.
Following the attack, the park closed the park and authorities are trying to locate and trap the mountain lion. It is not known when the park would be open again.
“We will immobilize the cat and put it in a large trap so it come to it. But prior to that we will take DNA samples from it so we can make sure we have the correct cat. I know we wouldn’t leave the cat there,” said Todd Tognazzini, the head of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
