Posted on 07/22/2025 3:57:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A four-year-old was enjoying a hike with family at a popular US national park when a mountain lion suddenly attacked and injured the child.
The family was near Victoria Overlook on Hurricane Ridge at Olympic National Park in Washington state on Sunday when the animal pounced.
National Park Service rangers responded around 3.15pm.
‘According to initial reports, a collared mountain lion bit a child walking with their family on a popular trail,’ stated the park service.
Park staff and paramedics with Clallam County Fire District 2 rushed to the scene and airlifted the child to a nearby trauma center. The child is being treated at a hospital in Seattle, and their condition was not immediately known.
Park officials said they would not be releasing more details on the victim for the time being to protect their privacy.
Right after the attack, rangers started looking for the big cat, with the canine team joining around 5pm that day. Rangers spotted the animal with a tracking collar shortly after the canines were sent out, but did not complete the operation.
Park staff found and ‘dispatched the animal’, meaning they killed it, on Monday and stated that there was no threat to the public.
Park officials found and killed the mountain lion that attacked the child (Picture: Getty Images) The incident is being investigated.
US Fish and Wildlife Service lists 10 things people can do to stay safe in mountain lion habitats. The agency advises anyone who encounters a cougar to make themselves appear large and throw stones or branches, and never run past one or crouch down because those are behaviors of prey.
‘Supervise children, especially outdoors between dusk and dawn,’ states the agency on its website.
‘Educate them about cougars and other wildlife they might encounter.’
Olympic National Park is one of the most popular national parks in the US (Credits: Getty Images) The attack happened five days after a small plane crashed in a remote area of the same park, killing one person and leaving the two others on board injured.
Olympic National Park ranked the tenth most visited national park in America in 2023, with 2.96million guests recorded, according to the outdoors company KÜHL.
‘Encompassing nearly a million acres, the park protects a vast wilderness, thousands of years of human history, and several distinctly different ecosystems, including glacier-capped mountains, old-growth temperate rain forests, and over 70 miles of wild coastline,’ states the park service.
Then the moose keep the MLs away!
How is a child supposed to make themselves appear large?
This is the reason we killed them on sight.
Right!
A moose once bit my sister.
I’ve seen many on game cameras in MN, but the MNDNR refuses to admit it.
They say there are none residing in MN. We all know better, but why would they deny it?
FTA: ... a child walking with their family....
:::::::
It’s not “their family,” you moron: it’s “his” or “her” family. The possessive pronoun “their” is plural, and this story is about a single child.
..............”If they weren’t so small, you would have to be wary they might decide to eat you”
My cat, Daisy, who weighs 8 lbs, bites me every day and would eat me if she could. Vet said she’s a Tr-colored Tabby, very smart and very fierce.
I carry a Glock 27 when hiking in cougar country. Saguaro NP has signs warning of them.
The #1 way to stop mountain lions from attacking is to stop using children as bait.... 🦁
The signs are good, but dealing with the public and getting their attention is an art. The animal they ultimately had to put down was collared with a tracking device. They put the device on them to know where they are. If that warning device, and that’s all it is pertaining to the public, is not going to be utilized for the overall protection of the people and the animals, then why use it and lead the public to believe it is being used to know where the animal is when it is not going to be manipulated for the public? Waste of time, money, and dangerous for people and animals.
wy69
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