Mountain lion attack on a child in Bailey

CPW NE Region @CPW_NE 20m

We are actively investigating a report of a mountain lion attack on a child in Bailey. Victim is en route to the hospital. More information will be made available when ready.

Source

Earlier tonight an 8 year old boy was bitten by a mountain lion and transported by his parents to Platte Canyon Fire. They took him by ambulance to the hospital.

Child attacked by mountain lion in Bailey - KDVR

CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE)
8/21/19, 9:56 PM
We can confirm this is a mountain lion attack on a young boy. Wildlife officers are searching the scene. A dog team has been called in to help search the area for the mountain lion & because of that Bailey residents are asked to please keep their pets indoors

Per residents, the Park County Sheriff's Office has sent an emergency alert notification saying that the mountain lion attack was off of Impala Trail in the Burland area and to call if you spot a lion.

Important Phone Numbers for the Park County Sheriff's Office:
(In case of an emergency: 9-1-1)

Park County Dispatch (non-emergency): 719-836-4121 option 5
Animal Control: 719-836-4380

Platte Canyon Fire @plattecanyonfd 15m
Earlier this evening #pcfpd transported a minor who was attacked by a mtn. lion. Per our crews the patient did sustain serious injuries, the patient was treated and transported by our crews immediately. #CPW may have additional information.

CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE)
8/22/19, 7:59 AM
Morning update on the mountain lion attack last night in Bailey:
- Occurred around 7:30 pm when the boy was playing outside his home.
- Search for the mountain lion is ongoing; a dog team was brought in to aid in that search. A trap was set.
- Boy remained hospitalized overnight.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jason Clay
CPW NE Region PIO

Young boy attacked by a mountain lion in Bailey

BAILEY, Colo. - An eight-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion in the Burland Ranchettes Subdivision of Bailey Wednesday evening and sustained serious injuries that caused the child to be hospitalized overnight.

The attack occurred around 7:30 p.m. while the boy was playing in the yard with his brother outside their home.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were at the residence throughout the entire night after responding to the attack. A trap was set and a team of three dogs were brought in to try to locate the mountain lion. The dog team searched the area for roughly two hours, but were unable to pick up a scent trail to track the animal.

Wildlife officers will be making every effort to locate the mountain lion from this attack on Thursday to ensure the safety of the public. That may include bringing in a new pack of dogs, depending on what is observed Thursday morning when daylight comes. By policy, any wildlife attack on a human resulting in injury, that animal must be put down.

The two boys were playing outside on a trampoline when the eight-year-old boy heard one of his friends calling from a neighboring house and ran to go visit the friend. While he was running, the mountain lion attacked and bit the boy on the head.

The brother ran inside the house and told the father that something did not sound right. The father rushed outside and found the mountain lion on top of his son. The mountain lion let go of the child as the father approached and took off running. A 911 call was made and the boy was taken to the hospital.

The description wildlife officers received of the mountain lion was that it is of smaller size. It is not known at this time if it was a male or female.

“The kid was running and it probably triggered the lions natural response to a prey animal running,” said Area Wildlife Manager Mark Lamb. “We all hope that the child will be alright and you just hate to see this occur."

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 this year, but the previous attack before this was in 2016. The last time three attacks occurred within the same year was in 1998.

Of the two previous attacks this year, the first occurred Feb. 4 on a trail runner at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space west of Fort Collins while the second was on Aug. 10 northeast of Kremmling. Both victims were adult males.

Video Broll of trap being set:

###

CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 41 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.

From Platte Canyon Fire Protection District 2min ago:
Last evening #pcfpd was notified

@ 7:50pm
that a pediatric patient that had been "attacked by a mtn lion" was being brought to our fire station by parents
7:53pm
patient arrived at our fire station #2

7:54pm
patient was treated/transported emergent to a Denver metro hospital.
Patient Update 8/22/2019

With the permission of the patients family we'd like to share...
First off, in this unfortunate incident we were honored to have transported such a brave and stoic young man. Even with his serious injuries sustained, our young patient showed concern for the attending medics.

Per our hospital contact and again with the family's permission this brave young man is doing well in light of the circumstances.
They and we thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.
#ourcommunityrocks

Earlier this evening #pcfpd transported a minor who was attacked by a mtn. lion. Per our crews the patient did sustain serious injuries, the patient was treated and transported by our crews immediately. #CPW may have additional information.

From CPW:
(1/4) Mountain lion attack update: Wildlife officers and the dog team from USDA Wildlife Sevivces were in the vicinity of the attack sight and received a call of a landowner who was missing a goat and had just seen two mountain lions.

(2/4) The officers responded to that depredation call, which was within a mile as the crow flies of the original attack site. Upon arrival, they found two mountain lions that fit the description of the lion from the attack.

(3/4) The mountain lions were then euthanized. We believe that one of these two lions is from the attack Wednesday night. We say that because of the proximity and that they fit the description of the lion reported to us from the attack.

(4/4) A necropsy will now take place of the mountain lions at our health lab before being sent to a Forensic Lab in Wyoming for DNA analysis. That is how we would be able to confirm with absolute certainty that we got the mountain lion from the attack.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jason Clay
CPW NE Region PIO

8/26/2019

DNA test results provide positive identification in mountain lion attack on young boy in Bailey

DENVER - DNA test results confirmed to Colorado Parks and Wildlife that the mountain lion who attacked an eight-year-old boy in Bailey, Colo., on Aug. 21 was one removed from the area by wildlife officials the following day, CPW announced Monday.

The boy was attacked at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, sustaining serious injuries. The following day, while CPW wildlife officers and USDA Wildlife Services officials were already in the immediate area searching for the mountain lion responsible for the attack, two lions had killed and started feeding upon a domestic goat. Federal Wildlife Services officials euthanized the two male mountain lions seen at the goat carcass. CPW then submitted DNA samples from both mountain lions for analysis because they fit the description of the attacking lion and were in close proximity to the attack site.

The University of Wyoming Forensics Lab confirmed to Colorado Parks and Wildlife a positive match. Tissue samples from one of those two mountain lions matched hair samples taken off of the neck and chest from the boy in the attack, off the shirt of the father who had picked up his son after scaring the mountain lion away, off of the bedding from the hospital and of lion fur collected at the scene of the attack.

“It is reassuring to know that the mountain lion from both the attack and depredation of the goat was removed from the area,” said Area Wildlife Manager Mark Lamb. “This male juvenile mountain lion was not only a threat to human safety, but obviously to livestock and pets as well. We had clear signs that both of these male mountain lions were feeding well in the area, so there was no reason to believe that they would travel elsewhere out of that community any time soon.”

The second mountain lion euthanized following the depredation was also tested, but did not match any of the DNA samples submitted.

The lab also tested for proteins from the domestic goat killed that were pulled off the claws of both mountain lions, which came back positive. This confirms the necropsy results from CPW’s health lab that found stomach contents in both lions were full of goat tissue. Both mountain lions were estimated at 12 months old going off an examination of the canine tooth length, were males and both weighed around 65 pounds.

“We encourage people in the community to remain vigilant and take the proper precautions for living with all wildlife, but to also protect livestock and their pets as well,” Lamb added.

The DNA tests run by the University of Wyoming Forensics Lab are the same that would be run by the FBI or CBI on humans, just looking for different primers for wildlife. The UW lab is an internationally accredited one that specializes in wildlife with state-of-the-art technology. The lab has a contract with many states for DNA analysis, including Montana, New Mexico and Arizona.

The Platte Canyon Fire Protection District put out a statement with permission from the victim's family Monday morning.

“Our young patient had his second surgery yesterday, he continues to persevere and remain brave while healing,” the statement read. “Your ongoing thoughts, prayers and support are appreciated.”

That was the second statement since the attack, the first was released Saturday afternoon, coming directly from the family.

“Our son is a compassionate and brave little boy,” the statement read. “He had surgery to repair multiple lacerations to his head and face. He will need time for additional treatment and healing. We thank everyone for their overwhelming support, expressions of concern and offers of help. At this difficult time, we ask for your patience and the time for our family to adjust and heal. Thank you."

At this point, the family is still asking for its privacy, especially from the media.

The Platte Canyon Fire Protection District has verified a legitimate GoFundMe site established for the family, whose child remains in the hospital recovering.

Link to GoFundMe site

If you would like to donate gift cards (for fuel, food, etc./please no actual food items at this time), the gift cards can be dropped off at Platte Canyon Fire Station #2 at 153 Delwood Drive, Bailey, CO 80421.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife did remove the trap that had been set out at the scene of the attack and is not active in the area. Wildlife officers will be tracking new or ongoing mountain lion activity in the area and encourage residents to report any sightings or problems so that they can work to mitigate human-lion conflicts.

###

CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 41 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.