As you may well know, mountain lions are fascinating creatures, but being on the receiving end of their attack is surely terrifying. Take it from this woman who spotted one at a swamp sanctuary in Florida. There’s video of her gasping in terror as a mountain lion runs towards her, and then, thankfully, past her. She proves that the mere suggestion of a mountain lion altercation can inspire fear.
Which brings us to a more recent mountain lion incident, where a five-year-old boy from Colorado wasn’t as lucky. On Friday night, a mountain lion attacked him while he played outside his home. Fortunately, his heroic mother managed to save him from the attack.
This is a recap of the harrowing incident, according to People:
Alerted by her son’s screams, the mother ran outside and saw the lion on her son, she told deputies. She “had to physically remove the lion’s paws from her son’s face,” sheriff’s spokesman Alex Burchetta tells PEOPLE.
A U.S. Forest Service officer later killed a mountain lion that was in the family’s front yard. The boy sustained injuries on his face, head, and neck, but is now in the hospital in stable condition. His mother was also treated for minor injuries.
Mountain lions attacking humans are rare, but they are happening more often, mainly due to people entering their habitat with increasing frequency. Luckily, the humans involved in this incident survived, in large part because of a mother’s heroism. It’s a shame, though, that anybody involved, whether human or mountain lion, should have to suffer because of these encounters.
