Heroic mum fights off mountain lion with her bare hands
A mother in California is being hailed a hero after fighting off a dangerous mountain lion that attacked her son.
The woman used her bare hands to fend off the animal after it lunged at her five-year-old son and dragged him along the front lawn of his home.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the boy was playing near his house, west of Los Angeles, when the mountain lion attacked.
After the mother heard the boy's screams, her protective instincts kicked in and she rushed to the rescue.
"She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son," Department spokesman Patrick Foy told the Associated Press.
"The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son’s life."
Once the boy was free from the jaws of the mountain lion, he was immediately taken to the hospital where law enforcement were notified of the attack.
Mr Foy shared that the five-year-old boy had sustained traumatic injuries to his head and torso.
Authorities also confirmed that following the attack, the mountain lion has been shot and killed by a wildlife officer.
The officer was sent to the scene shortly after the attack, arriving to find the mountain lion crouching in the bushes with its “ears back and hissing” at him.
“Due to its behaviour and proximity to the attack, the warden believed it was likely the attacking lion and to protect public safety shot and killed it on site,” the wildlife department said in a statement Saturday.
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