A 4-year-old boy is recovering well following an attack by a mountain lion at a nature preserve in San Diego, a hospital spokesman said on May 28.
The boy is in good condition and is expected to be released from Rady Children’s Hospital soon, spokesman Carlos Delgado said.
The attack happened Monday afternoon when the boy and his family were hiking in a group along a trail the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve with 10 other people. The boy suffered head injuries, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Lt. Scott Bringman said at a news conference.
The boy’s injuries are not life-threatening, Bringman added. He was not identified.
When the mountain lion attacked, everyone scattered, with the exception of the boy’s father, who began throwing rocks to scare the mountain lion away, Bringman said.
During their investigation, Fish and Wildlife officers initially saw animal prints and later that night spotted the animal. Bringman said the wardens believe it is the same animal that attacked the boy as it did not appear to be afraid of the wardens.
The female mountain lion was euthanized and will be tested for DNA from the victim. The child’s clothing and bandages will also be tested for the mountain lion’s DNA, and results should be available within a few days.
The park is closed until investigators can confirm it is the same mountain lion.
Bringman said the last mountain lion attack in San Diego County was more than 20 years ago.
According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, there have been 14 mountain lion attacks of humans between 1986 and 2014, with the last fatal attack taking place in January 2004 in Whiting Ranch Regional Park. The victim was a 35-year-old male.
4-Year-Old Boy Attacked By Mountain Lion At Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve https://t.co/vfuCPIZH25
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None of the recorded attacks took place at the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. A 56-year-old female was killed at Cuyamaca State Park in San Diego County in December 1994, about a year after a 10-year-old female was attacked in the same park but survived.
The department “defines a mountain lion attack as an incident resulting in direct physical contact between a human and a mountain lion resulting in physical injury or death to the person,” it stated.
“According to historical reports, four additional fatal incidents involving six victims occurred around the turn of the previous century. Furthermore, two additional incidents have been reported by the media as attacks. However, they do not fit the criteria of verifiable attacks on humans and were not confirmed,” it added.
“One incident involved a turkey hunter who was camouflaged and calling for turkeys when a mountain lion approached from behind. Immediately after the mountain lion confronted the hunter and realized that the hunter was not a turkey, the lion ran away. This is not judged to be an attack on a human. Every indication suggests that if the hunter had not been camouflaged and calling like a turkey, the mountain lion would have avoided him. The other incident on the Los Padres National Forest was described as a mountain lion attack on a boy near a stream. However, the alleged injuries were not verified by a physician, law enforcement officer or CDFW personnel.”
NTD reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
