A mother’s love for her children is something to behold, and one woman in Colorado showed this to the world when she physically pried her five-year-old’s head from the jaws of a mountain lion.
The attack happened in a family's yard at their Lower Woody Creek home near Lower River Road, 10 miles northwest of Aspen.
According to 9 News, the boy and his older brother were outside their home playing in the yard. The boys' mother was inside the home when she heard her son scream.
She ran outside to inspect the commotion, and what she discovered terrified her. A mountain lion had pounced on her son.
When she charged at the animal and yanked away one of its paws, she discovered that her son’s entire head was inside its mouth.
But the brave mother didn’t back down. She grabbed its jaw and pried it open to free her son.
"She was able to pry the cat's jaws open," said Pitkin County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Buglione. "She's a hero."
“The boy's father had just returned from a run when the attack occurred," said an ABC report. "He jumped in the car with his wife and son and called 911 as they sped to the Aspen hospital."
The authorities said that the mother suffered bite marks on her hand and scratches on her leg, but received treatment at the hospital and was shortly released.
The mountain lion was estimated to be two years old and was not fully grown.
"It wasn't a big cat," Buglione said. "Had it been a 110-pound lion—which I've seen around here—this would have been a much different story."
“If that animal engages, not just a lion, but a bear, you want to fight," said Matt Robbins with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. "You want to put up a resistance and you want that animal to know that you’re not an easy prey. From what I understand from reports, she did absolutely the right thing.”
According to the ABC report, Colorado is home to up to 4,500 mountain lions, and they sometimes wander into urban areas looking for food. Since 1990, mountain lions have killed three people and injured 18 in the state.
The identity of the family is being withheld to protect their privacy.
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