The Latest: Mountain lions killed after Colorado boy bitten

BAILEY, Colo. — The Latest on a mountain lion attack in Colorado (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

Wildlife officials have euthanized two mountain lions after an 8-year-old boy was bitten on the head outside his rural Colorado home.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife tweeted Thursday that a landowner within a mile (1.6 kilometres) of the site of Wednesday night’s attack in Bailey reported a goat was missing and two mountain lions were roaming the area. Both lions were euthanized and will be sent to a lab in Wyoming for DNA testing.

Wildlife officials say they believe one of the big cats was involved in the attack because of proximity and because both matched the description given by the boy’s father.

The boy, whose name has not been released, was attacked as he ran to his neighbour’s house. He is hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

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9:20 a.m.

A mountain lion attacked and injured an 8-year-old boy outside his rural Colorado home, prompting state wildlife officials to set traps and use search dogs in an effort to find the lion.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Jason Clay says the boy was bitten on the head at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a rural subdivision near the small town of Bailey, southwest of Denver.

The boy was hospitalized. His identity and the severity of his injuries were not made public.

It’s the third attack by a mountain lion on a person in Colorado so far this year.

A mountain lion last week attacked a hunter who fought it off with a pocket knife.

And in February, a mountain lion attacked a runner who choked and bludgeoned it to death.

The Associated Press