ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Officials have euthanized a mountain lion that attacked a toddler on a trail at a California park, Orange County officials said.
According to CNN and the Desert Sun, the attack happened after 4 p.m. local time Monday as a family visited Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.
After the family fled to safety, the boy was treated at a hospital, authorities said. Orange County deputies said the boy is “OK,” the Desert Sun reported.
“The mountain lion came out of somewhere and grabbed the 3-year-old by the neck and dragged him a short distance,” Capt. Tony Bommarito of the Orange County Fire Authority told the Desert Sun.
The child’s father then sprang into action, hurling a backpack at the mountain lion, Bommarito said. The animal set the boy free and went for the backpack before climbing a tree, the outlets reported.
Officials euthanized the cougar with permission from the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, the outlets reported.