MALIBU — A mountain lion attacked and wounded an 11-year-old girl outside her family’s home in Malibu, California, then chased her mother before it was scared off, authorities said Monday.
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The girl was near a chicken coop on the property Sunday evening when the cougar attacked her from behind, biting her arm, leg and lower back, according to California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira.
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The young victim was treated at a hospital for minor injuries, Tira said.
During the attack, the girl’s mother heard her child’s screams and ran over with one of the girl’s siblings.
“That’s when the mountain lion proceeded to chase the mother and the sibling,” Tira told the Los Angeles Times.
Another family member had a stun gun and the sound of the weapon scared away the big cat, Tira said.
Wildlife officers later found a mountain lion in the area and euthanized it. DNA tests will confirm if it’s the same animal that bit the girl.
Mountain lions rarely attack people. There have been 27 confirmed attacks on humans since 1986, with most of them nonfatal, according to state Fish and Wildlife data.
The most recent fatal attack was in March 2024, when a mountain lion killed a 21-year-old man near Georgetown in Northern California.
Last September, a mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy while he was playing near his family’s picnic table at Malibu Creek State Park. The child was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.