Mountain lion attack on boy in Lake Forest park called ‘extraordinarily rare’
The mountain lion attack that injured a 3-year-old boy in a Lake Forest wilderness park on Monday was “extremely rare,” a state fish and wildlife official said on Tuesday.
The boy – bitten in the back of the neck – was “doing OK” and was released from the hospital the night of the incident, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Patrick Foy said.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park remained closed on Tuesday. However, officials began to discuss the possibility of reopening the area to the public, Orange County Parks spokesman John Gannaway said.
Forensic analysis has confirmed that the mountain lion shot and killed by Orange County Sheriff’s Deputies as it sat in a tree with a backpack in its mouth Monday is the same one that attacked the child, Foy said.
“The attack was extraordinarily rare,” he said, “and it’s terribly, terribly unfortunate, the whole situation.”
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In California, Foy said, there have been 16 attacks recorded in 100 years, three of them fatal, including a 2004 case in Whiting Ranch.
“So, the statistics will tell you … the drive to the park is far more risky than being attacked by a lion at the park,” Foy said.
A 35-year-old cyclist, Mark Reynolds, was killed by a mountain lion in the park in 2004. He was fixing his bike when he was attacked by the puma, which then attacked two other people who found Reynolds’ body. That mountain lion was later tracked down and killed.
The boy and five other family members had been walking along a trail on Monday when a mountain lion emerged from the wilderness, Orange County Fire Authority officials said.
The large cat took hold of the small child with its mouth and dragged him a short distance. The child’s father threw a backpack at the animal, prompting it to release the boy. The cougar then took the backpack, which was filled with sunscreen and water bottles, and climbed up the tree where it had come from, authorities said.
See also: Southern California mountain lions face possible extinction, study finds
Rumors suggesting that the boy provoked the animal were false, Capt. Foy said. The mountain lion came after the boy moments after his family encountered it. His father immediately shouted to threaten the animal, Foy said, just as California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials recommend. He said there had been no reports of any harassment of the creature.
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed the animal about an hour after it bit the child, said Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department. CDFW Wardens collected its body, which was delivered to forensic scientists in Sacramento, Foy said. Lab results announced at about 1:45 p.m., during Tuesday’s press conference, confirmed that the mountain lion that was killed was the same one that attacked the boy.
Officials said killing the animal was necessary for safety reasons. Any animal that attacks a human is deemed a threat to public safety, Foy said. In these cases, it’s difficult to catch and release an animal elsewhere. Other parks may be hesitant to welcome an animal known to have attacked a human, Foy said.
“In a case when a lion or bear, to use two examples, actually get to the point where they start attacking and threatening to kill small children, that is definitely into the black-and-white area,” he said.
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park is a 2,500 acre coastal ecosystem composed of canyons, grassland and streams, 100-foot sandstone cliffs and densely forested regions of sycamore and oak. It contains 23 trails that wind a combined 17 miles through the park frequented by hikers and bikers.
There are an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions in California, a figure that his not changed dramatically in the 23 years Foy has worked for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The boy’s family asked for anonymity and offered a statement from his mother read by officials at the news conference.
“We do not fault this magnificent creature for its instinctive behavior,” she said.
She said part of the reason her family decided to hike on Monday was to help process grief in the wake of the recent death of her sister. The family, who intends to return to the trail, still believes “the natural world demands our respect, and in return provides a powerful antidote to human trauma.”