On August 26, local time, a mother in California, USA, fought with a cougar with her bare hands and saved her 5-year-old son who was bitten by a lion, and the lion involved was shot.
Mountain Lion Infographic Xinhua News Agency
The U.S. business insider website reported that the boy was attacked by a cougar while playing near his home and was dragged by the lion, which weighed about 65 pounds (about 29.5 kilograms), about 45 yards (about 41 meters). The boy's mother was in the house at the time of the incident, and after hearing her son's screams, she rushed out and fought the lion with her bare hands, and finally the lion let go of her son. The boy's parents immediately took him to a local hospital, where he suffered injuries to the head, neck and upper body, but is in stable condition.
Captain Patrick Foy, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said wildlife officers sent to the scene found the mountain lion that attacked the boy hiding in the bushes, "head back and hissing," and finally they shot it. A statement on the California Wildlife Service's website said, "Given the lion's behavior and the distance of the attack, we believe it may have been more aggressive and shot it on the spot to protect public safety." Foy also praised the mother, saying she was "a true hero in this story" and that she absolutely saved her son's life.
According to CBS Los Angeles, there have been four cougar attacks in California since 2019. Anna Beatrice Cherlo, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, similarly praised the mother's behavior, telling the Los Angeles Times that hikers in the mountains should be aware that they may encounter mountain lions, and should not turn around and run away, should keep their children by their side, or let them sit on their shoulders to look taller. If the lion does not leave, people need to appear more confident and can resist the lion with stones or sticks around them.
(Original title: A mother in California fights a cougar with her bare hands and saves her 5-year-old son from the lion's mouth)
Source: Overseas Network