A four-year-old child has been airlifted to a trauma centre in Seattle after being bitten by a mountain lion while walking with their family in Olympic National Park, Washington state.
The incident occurred on Sunday on a popular trail within the park, officials confirmed on Monday, stating the child was injured during the attack. The National Park Service released a statement detailing the event.
The attack by a mountain lion fitted with a tracking collar was near an overlook on Hurricane Ridge, a popular mountain area with expansive views.
The attack was reported to rangers around 3:15 p.m. on Sunday and paramedics and park staff traveled to the injured child, according to the National Park Service.
Rangers immediately started searching for the cougar and by Monday, park staff had “dispatched the animal,” the statement said using a term that generally refers to killing an animal.
The statement read: “Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue (Clallam County Fire District 2) paramedics and park staff responded to the incident and transferred the victim via LifeFlight to a Level 1 Trauma Center. The patient is undergoing treatment for their injuries in a Seattle hospital. To protect their privacy, identifying details will not be released at this time.
“Rangers began searching for the cougar immediately following the incident. A canine team joined the search at approximately 5 p.m. the same day. Rangers located the cougar shortly after the canine team joined the effort but did not complete the dispatch operation until the following morning.
“This incident is under investigation. No additional information or photos are available at this time. “
"There are no current threats to the public," the statement added.
Officials said they would not be releasing any identifying information about the child to protect their identity.
