SACRAMENTO—The ever-growing population of mountain lions in California, and the non-management of them through Passage of Proposition 117, has resulted in an attack on a 3-year-old child in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Orange County on Jan. 20.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) has completed testing on the carcass of a mountain lion killed at the park, and determined that the animal was the same one that injured the small child earlier that day.
On Monday, Jan. 20, in the late afternoon, officers responded to the park following reports of a three-year-old boy being attacked and injured by a mountain lion. After the animal reportedly grabbed the child by the neck, the boy’s father charged at it while shouting. The lion released the boy and assumed an aggressive posture. The father then threw a backpack at the animal. The lion then climbed a nearby tree, carrying the backpack in its mouth.
Before wildlife officers could reach the park, Orange County sheriff’s personnel and Orange County park rangers located the lion thought responsible for the attack. After consultation with DFW, a sheriff’s deputy then killed the animal, since it was a clear threat to public safety.
The mountain lion was taken to the DFW Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Sacramento for DNA testing. After comparing DNA on the victim’s clothing to DNA taken from the animal carcass, wildlife forensic specialists confirmed the young 55-pound female lion killed in the park is the same lion that was involved in the attack.
A news conference was held Tuesday afternoon, at which the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Fire Authority, Orange County Parks and DFW were present. DFW Captain Patrick Foy praised the father of the young victim for how he responded in protecting his son. The boy was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and was able to return home the same day.
Foy said DFW estimates there are between four and six thousand mountain lions in California, however that is the same estimate provided by the DFW two decades ago, and it is far, far fewer than the actual number of lions in the state. There have been no counts or studies on mountain lions by the DFW since the passage of Proposition 117 in 1990, that protected mountain lions as a “specially protected” species. Lions have not been hunted in California since the 1970s.
More than half of California is considered mountain lion habitat, and after generations of no hunting, they have now lost all fear of man and pose a threat throughout the state.
