8-Year-Old Colorado Boy Attacked by Mountain Lion in Backyard
OutdoorHub Reporters 08.23.19
We recently reported a story about an elk hunter who was stalked and attacked by a mountain lion in the mountains near Kremmling, Colorado. Now, a little over 100 miles south in Bailey, Colorado, the search for another mountain lion appears to have concluded after an eight-year-old boy was mauled right outside his home.
The attack occurred Wednesday evening (Aug 21) while the boy was outside playing with his brother. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the child was jumping on a trampoline in his yard when a friend next door called him over. The boy ran towards his friends house down the street, apparently triggering the hunting instincts of a mountain lion nearby. The cat pounced, grabbing the boy by his head.
At this point, the boy’s brother rushed inside to alert his father, who ran down the street to find the mountain lion on top of his son.
A crew of wildlife officials searched for the cat through the night with dogs, but could not track it down.
Thursday evening, (Aug 22) wildlife officials got a call from a landowner who was missing a goat and “had just seen two mountain lions,” KKTV reports. Wildlife officers arrived to the scene and determined one of the lions fit their description of the one involved in the Wednesday night attack. Both mountain lions were then tracked down and euthanized.
“We all hope that the child will be alright and you just hate to see this occur,” said area Wildlife Manager Mark Lamb.
Based on the report, and judging by the animal’s behavior, it sounds like it was a juvenile lion. A necropsy is scheduled for both mountain lions at a forensic lab in Wyoming. Once results come back from there, officials will be able to confirm one of the mountain lions euthanized was the one who attacked the young boy.
Though Coloradans share their space with the animal, mountain lion attacks are rare. Since 1990, there have been 22 in the state. The attack Wednesday night marks the third attack this year; the last time there were three attacks in one year was 1998, CPW said.
