A woman has been hailed as a hero after she saved her five-year-old son’s life by fighting off a mountain lion with her bare hands.
Captain Patrick Foy, a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that the 65-pound mountain lion attacked the child while he was playing near his house in Calabasas, California, on Thursday, August 27.
The mountain lion "dragged him about 45 yards" across the front lawn.
The boy suffered significant traumatic injuries to his head and upper torso from the attack but is now in a stable condition at a hospital in Los Angeles, Foy said.
State officials confirmed that the mountain lion was later shot and killed by a wildlife officer, according to The Guardian.
"The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son’s life," Foy said.
The mother was inside the house when she heard the attack outside.
"She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son," Foy added.
The woman then immediately drove the boy to a hospital, where law enforcement was notified of the attack and sent a wildlife officer to the scene, per Fox News.
When he arrived at the house, the officer discovered a mountain lion crouching in the bushes with its "ears back and hissing" at him, according to Foy.
"Due to its behavior and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on sight," the wildlife department said in a statement.
Subsequent DNA tests confirmed that the lion was the one responsible for attacking the child, the statement said.
Another mountain lion spotted in the area was tranquilized and then released into the wild unharmed after being tested to be sure it was not involved in the attack.
