Mountain Lion Attacks Young Boy on California Road

A juvenile mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy while he was hiking down a rural California road with his mother and grandfather.

According to abc7ny.com, the attack occurred the night of January 31 in an unincorporated area of the Bay Area's San Mateo County.

Wildlife wardens have searched for the mountain lion without any luck.

"We are doing our best to try and capture the mountain lion and remove it so it can't threaten anyone else," Captain Patrick Foy said.

"Jack, being the little ball of energy that he is, got a little ahead of his mom and grandparents and must have frightened the mountain lion. Fortunately, [the animal] was a juvenile," Amie Wagner, Jack's aunt, said.

"It was a pretty vicious attack," Foy said. "It took him to the ground and apparently was described as biting into this young child. The mom lunged at the mountain lion and before making contact with it, the lion let her son go."

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San Francisco's KGO-TV spoke with a nearby resident who says he was the first one on the scene.

"They were pretty calm when I pulled up. They're my neighbors so I asked them if they were okay. They were very... they were good. They said everybody's fine, but they had to talk to Fish and Game, and a warden pulled up right as I pulled out," neighbor Chad Conover said. "Typically, the mountain lions avoid people, so it's not often you hear about an attack on a human."

The family says Jack is pretty bruised and beaten up overall.

"He has a lot of lacerations, bruising, especially on his face. He has one fracture near his eye. His eye is really swollen. He's all stitched up," Wagner said.

Loved ones are grateful the boy wasn't more seriously injured.

"He's a brave, courageous little boy and he's going to come out of it with his spirit intact," Wagner said.

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