Mountain Lion Involved In Peninsula Attack On Child Is Euthanized

CUPERTINO, CA — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday that it humanely euthanized a mountain lion that was confirmed to have bitten a young girl Sunday at a park and nature preserve in Cupertino.

CDFW officers and staff at the Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve searched for the mountain lion suspected in the attack for roughly three days before finding a mountain lion in a tree Wednesday afternoon.

The female lion -- estimated at 2 to 4 years old and weighing roughly 60 to 70 pounds -- was sedated and CDFW officers sent a DNA sample to the agency's Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Sacramento. The large cat was confirmed to have attacked the child and was humanely euthanized to maintain public safety.

The unidentified 6-year-old girl suffered only minor injuries during the attack and is currently recovering, according to the CDFW. The girl's family members, who were with her when the animal attacked around 10 a.m. Sunday, were able to scare it away before it did any more harm.

According to the CDFW, it was the second mountain lion attack in the state in 2020, following a mountain lion that attacked and injured a 3-year-old boy in Orange County last month. An Orange County sheriff's deputy killed the cat shortly after the attack.

As many as 6,000 mountain lions live throughout the state, but attacks are exceedingly rare, according to the CDFW.

Wildlife officials have only confirmed 17 attacks since 1986 and have not confirmed a fatal mountain lion attack since 2004.

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