Mountain Lion That Bit Boy Is Killed

A wildlife officer shot and killed a female mountain lion that attacked a 7-year-old boy who was hiking with his family.

The 80-pound cat had bitten the boy's head. It was treed and killed a half-mile from the attack site.

The child also suffered puncture wounds and scrapes on his legs, likely from the animal's claws, Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Tyler Baskfield said.

Boulder County sheriff's officials said the boy's injuries were not life-threatening. He was hospitalized at The Children's Hospital, where officials would not release his condition.

The boy, whose name was not released, was apparently the last in a single-file line of seven other people taking a short hike Saturday at a scenic area of Flagstaff Mountain, Baskfield said.

"The father turned and saw the cat had a hold of the young boy," he said. The group began screaming at the cat and throwing rocks and was able to free the boy, he said.

The group was about 150 feet from a parking lot when the cat attacked, Baskfield said.

The officer shot the cat Sunday in the same area of the attack, Baskfield said. It was killed in the interest of public safety, he said.

A necropsy was planned to try to determine whether the animal was diseased or had another reason to attack, such as injury or starvation he said.

Baskfield said the mountain is prime habitat for the cats, and there had been several recent sightings of mountain lions west of Boulder.

"This is a very rare incident to happen," he said. "Mountain lions tend to be very elusive. Typically, mountain lions don't want any part of people."

There are about 5,000 mountain lions living in the vicinity, reports Karlyn Tilley of CBS station KCNC in Denver. But attacks on humans are rare. Only three people have died from them in 15 years in Colorado.

Rock climber Jason Leutheuser told Tilley: "If I respect them, and they respect me, then it's good. And if not, then you're supposed to make yourself look big, right?"

Actually, that is right, Tilley says. If you see a wild cat, you're supposed to raise your hands above your head and make yourself look as big as possible, and make a lot of noise. If you or someone in your group is attacked, fight back. The family members who were with the boy did fight back and, because of that, were able to save his life.