A woman demonstrated the extent of motherly instincts after using her bare hands to repeatedly strike a mountain lion in the face after seeing it attacking her young son in front of their Calabasas home.
On Thursday (August 26), a mountain lion attacked her 5-year-old son and dragged him 45 yards, according to a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. When the woman heard her child cry out, she rushed toward the sound to discover the horrifying sight of her little boy in danger. She charged at the animal and punched it numerous times before the mountain lion eventually let the child go and retreated.
A California Department of Fish and Wildlife representative, Patrick Foy, recounted the sequence of events by explaining that the woman “ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son.” The wildlife official went on to commend the woman, dubbing her a “hero” for defending her son against the big cat and said “she absolutely saved her son’s life.”
Once the terrifying moment was over, the young boy was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital where he was treated for injuries sustained to his head and abdomen.
Later, officials returned to the home and discovered a mountain lion that seemed to match the description of the one that attacked the kid because of its aggressive behavior. The officers made the decision to shoot the animal on sight to mitigate the threat of attacks on any other person in the area.
Though there may not have been full certainty at the time of shooting the animal that it was the one who attacked the little boy, further investigation showed that there were traces of the boy’s DNA on the lion’s body.