Woman punches and fights off mountain lion to save five-year-old son from attack

Wildlife officer shoots and kills animal following attack on young child

An uncollared adult female mountain lion photographed in 2016 with a motion sensor camera in Los Angeles County (AP)

A woman has been hailed as a hero after she saved her five-year-old son’s life by fighting off a mountain lion with her bare hands.

Captain Patrick Foy, a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that the 30kg mountain lion attacked the child while he was playing near his house in Calabasas, California, on Thursday and “dragged him about 45 yards” across the front lawn.

The boy suffered significant traumatic injuries to his head and upper torso from the attack but is now in a stable condition at a hospital in Los Angeles, Mr Foy said.

State officials confirmed that the mountain lion was later shot and killed by a wildlife officer.

Mr Foy added that the “true hero” from the incident was the boy’s mother, who was inside the house when she heard the attack outside.

“She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son,” he said.

The parent then immediately drove the boy to a hospital, where law enforcement were notified of the attack and sent a wildlife officer to the scene.

When he arrived at the house, the officer discovered a mountain lion crouching in the bushes with its “ears back and hissing” at him, according to Mr Foy.

“Due to its behavior and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on site,” the wildlife department said in a statement on Saturday.

It added that subsequent DNA tests confirmed that the lion was the one responsible for attacking the child.

A different mountain lion spotted in the area was tranquilised and then released into the wild unharmed after testing confirmed that it was not involved in the incident.

Although attacks are possible, the chances of being killed or injured by a mountain lion are relatively low as the big cats tend to be calm and elusive, according to the US National Park Service.

If a lion does attack, the agency advises people to fight back as such animals have been successfully beaten away with makeshift weapons in the past.

“A hiker in southern California used a rock to fend off a mountain lion that was attacking his son,” the park service wrote on its website.

“Others have fought back successfully with sticks, caps, jackets, garden tools, and their bare hands.”

Additional reporting by agencies