Elk NetworkMountain Lion Attacks 8-Year-Old Colorado Boy

General | August 23, 2019

A mountain lion attacked a young boy as he played with friends in Bailey, Colorado, a small town about 45 miles southwest of Denver.

Two brothers were playing outside on a trampoline when the boy heard one of his friends calling from a neighboring house so he ran to see him. While running, a mountain lion attacked and bit him on the head. The brother ran inside the house and told the father who immediately rushed outside and found the mountain lion on top of his son. The animal let go of the child as the father approached and took off running. The boy sustained serious injuries and spent the night in the hospital.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers worked throughout the entire night at the residence. They set a trap and used a team of three dogs to try to locate the mountain lion. They found and euthanized two mountain lions the following day.

Since 1990, there have been 22 mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado with three of those resulting in a fatality (1991, 1997 and 1999). There have been three attacks in 2019.

(Photo source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)