By Chris Boyette | CNN
A puma attacked a 5-year-old boy during a family picnic over the holiday weekend in Los Angeles County, according to state wildlife officials.
A family of at least six adults and a few children were having a picnic Sunday at the Tapia Park picnic area in Malibu Creek State Park just before 4:30 p.m. when a puma attacked the boy as the children played at the picnic table, according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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“One or more adults attacked the lion, and it released the boy,” according to the report the statement.
A woman who told local news outlet KTLA that she is the boy’s aunt, but did not want her name used, told the station that the boy’s father confronted the mountain lion.
“Someone shouted the child’s name and his father started running,” she said. “The father grabbed the mountain lion with his hands and he just fought. Then the mountain lion let go.”
The boy was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center for treatment, state wildlife officials said, but they could not provide an update on his condition Tuesday.
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Authorities responding to the scene were able to locate the mountain lion up a nearby tree where it fled after the attack, wildlife officials said.
“In consultation with CDFW wildlife officers, they deemed the mountain lion a threat to public safety and a ranger euthanized it with a firearm,” the state wildlife agency said.
Including Sunday’s incident, the state wildlife authority has documented 25 mountain lion attacks in California since 1986 — four of which were fatal.
Mountain lions, also known as cougars, cougars and panthers are “specially protected species in California, and population estimates across the state are considered stable, according to the state wildlife agency.
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