A 4-year-old child was attacked and injured over the weekend by a mountain lion while walking with family on a popular trail in Olympic National Park, park officials said Monday.
Park rangers were notified of the attack at around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, with initial reports saying that a collared mountain lion bit the child near the park’s Victoria Overlook area on Hurricane Ridge, according to a park news release.
Clallam County Fire District 2 paramedics and park staff responded, and the victim was flown to a trauma center, the news release said. The child was undergoing treatment as of Monday. The park, which said it was withholding identifying information to protect the child’s privacy, did not provide details of the child’s condition.
With assistance from a canine team, park rangers located the mountain lion shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday and “dispatched the animal” — a term commonly used to describe killing — on Monday morning, the news release said.
Park officials said there were no current threats to the public and that the incident remained under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the attack is encouraged to call 888-653-0009 or email nps_isb@nps.gov.
