A mountain lion attack occurred at Tapia Park, located within Malibu Creek State Park on Sept. 1. This attack is California’s 26th verified attack since 1986, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Package ran live for NewsWaves32 on Sept. 10.
A mountain lion attacked a 4-year-old boy and escaped up a tree before park rangers euthanized the cat.
The attack happened Sept. 1, and is the 26th verified attack reported in California since 1986, according to reports from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) updated in September 2024. Four of the 26 mountain lion attacks have been reported fatal, according to the department’s reports.
The boy was playing with several other children before 4:30 p.m., at a family picnic in Tapia Park, just through Malibu Canyon. The mountain lion came from the brush and grabbed the boy by the head, according to a statement from the CDFW.
The mountain lion began to run with the boy when the father stepped in and grabbed the cat until it eventually released the child, the CDFW wrote. The boy was airlifted to Northridge Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and released the following morning, the CDFW wrote.
The mountain lion remained in a nearby tree until a park ranger euthanized the cat after it was deemed, “A threat to public safety,” the CDFW wrote.
The mountain lion did not have a tag number, meaning it was not being tracked by the department, the CDFW said.
The animal was sent in for a necropsy to test for rabies and any other potential illnesses Sept. 3., the CDFW said. The test results received Sept. 10. showed negative results for rabies, the CDFW told Pepperdine reporter Claire Everbach.
The test showed the mountain lion was roughly 12-16 months old and was three to five pounds underweight. There were no obvious internal abnormalities to indicate illness, the CDFW told Everbach.
The child’s name was not released to the public, but the CDFW officials wrote he is safe and recovering.
NewsWaves Reporter Claire Everbach contributed to the reporting.
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