Hunt ends for mountain lion that attacked 5-year-old California boy

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — California wildlife officers have referred to as off the seek for a mountain lion that attacked a 5-year-old boy who was on a mountaineering path in rural Northern California, saying there was little likelihood of capturing the animal.

The California Division of Fish and Wildlife mentioned Friday that DNA testing confirmed {that a} mountain lion was answerable for the assault final Tuesday in San Mateo County, south of San Francisco.

However efforts to trace down and seize the lion have been hampered as a result of investigators have been denied entry to non-public property close to the assault web site.

“This lack of entry, mixed with worsening climate and the nomadic nature of mountain lions has diminished the probabilities for a profitable seize,” mentioned Capt. Patrick Foy, a division spokesman.

Shortly earlier than 7 p.m. Tuesday, the boy was on the path alongside Tunitas Creek Highway and had raced forward of his mom and grandparents when the massive cat pounced on him and pinned him to the bottom, authorities and members of the family mentioned.

His mom, Suzie Trexler, charged the cougar and it let the boy go and ran off.

The boy wasn’t bitten, Foy mentioned. Nonetheless, his face was scratched and he had a fractured bone close to his eye, his aunt, Amie Wagner, instructed the Chronicle.

He was handled at a neighborhood hospital.

Mountain lion assaults on people are uncommon. About 20 confirmed assaults have occurred in California in additional than a century of record-keeping, and solely three have been deadly, based on the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Final September, a 7-year-old boy was bitten by a mountain lion whereas strolling along with his father round nightfall in a park close to Santa Clarita in Southern California. The daddy scared the animal away, and the kid was handled for comparatively minor wounds.

The final incident earlier than Tuesday’s occurred in September when a cougar attacked a 7-year-old boy in Pico Canyon Park in Los Angeles County. That baby additionally survived.