Mountain lion bites 11-year-old girl as she feeds chickens, California cops say
.jpeg "A girl was attacked by a mountain lion (not the one pictured) outside her Malibu home, deputies said.")
An 11-year-old girl feeding chickens outside her Southern California home was bitten by a mountain lion, reports say.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, along with the county’s fire department, responded to a report of a child “attacked by a mountain lion,” deputies said in an Aug. 11 email to McClatchy News.
Upon arriving at the Malibu home the evening of Sunday, Aug. 10, deputies said they learned the girl had been bitten on her arm, KNBC reported.
Deputies said the child was taken to a hospital with “non-life threatening injuries,” the outlet reported.
“Moments before the encounter,” the girl was feeding chickens, deputies told the Malibu Times.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials found and euthanized the feline, officials told KTTV.
DNA tests are expected to confirm the cougar was “the same one that bit the girl,” officials said, according to the outlet.
What to do if you see a mountain lion
Mountain lions are typically “calm, quiet and elusive,” according to the National Park Service. While attacks involving mountain lions are rare, they are possible.
“Even so, the potential for being killed or injured by a mountain lion is quite low compared to many other natural hazards,” the National Park Service said on its website. “There is a far greater risk, for example, of being killed in an automobile accident with a deer than of being attacked by a mountain lion.”
Officials said there are some things you can do to prevent a mountain lion encounter from becoming an attack.
- Stay calm and back away slowly.
- Face the lion and stand up straight.
- Don’t approach a mountain lion, especially if it’s with kittens.
- Don’t run. It could stimulate a mountain lion’s chase instincts.
- Pick up small children so they don’t panic or run away.
- Don’t bend over or crouch down.
- Throw things at the mountain lion if it continues to move toward you.
- If the mountain lion attacks, fight back using anything around you.
- Report all sightings, encounters or attacks to local park rangers or law enforcement.
This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Mountain lion bites 11-year-old girl as she feeds chickens, California cops say."
