California Mountain Lion Attacks Boy, 3; Dad Fights Back By Hurling Backpack
BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 10 months ago
Via reader Richard, news from California.
Emergency crews responded to Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Lake Forest, California, Monday afternoon for a reported mountain lion attack on a 3-year-old child.
The child suffered injuries to the neck as a result of the attack, according to the Orange County Fire Authority who said the family of six was walking in the park with the 3-year-old in front of his father when the feline came out of nowhere and grabbed the child by the neck.
The father threw a backpack at the mountain lion, at which point the animal dropped the child in lieu of the backpack and jumped up a tree, the Orange County Fire Authority said.
While it’s tempting to say that I’d like to hurl a .45 ACP 230 grain fat boy at the cat, this instance is one where you’ve got to do something different.
Shooting at the cat that has your son in its clutches isn’t so smart. If he’d had a gun he could have jumped the cat and shot it point blank, but you’ve got to have a lot of confidence in your shooting ability to hit a moving target and not shoot your own child. A mistake of centimeters means life or death for your son.
Kudos to the father.
On January 21, 2020 at 11:08 pm, BAP45 said:
That little park sure has that happen frequently yet in all the time we spent on it we never saw any signs of mountain lions. Just goes to show how elusive they are when they want to be.
On January 22, 2020 at 8:45 pm, Elmo said:
BAP45-
At a California Associated Loggers meeting several years ago, our guest speaker was a state trapper speaking on the subject of mountain lions. He said something that really stuck with me: “You may not see them, but they see you”.
I’ve kept my head on a swivel ever since.