An 11-year-old had a scary encounter with a big cat just outside her home in Malibu, California, in August. According to The News International and the Los Angeles Times, the young girl was feeding chickens in her chicken coop just outside her home when a mountain lion attacked her from behind.
She was knocked onto her stomach before the cougar bit "her right arm, leg, and lower back," per The News International. That's when her mother heard the screams and came running out with her family.
Peter Tira, California Department of Fish and Wildlife's spokesperson, said, "That's when the mountain lion proceeded to chase her mother and siblings."
What's happening?
The child was taken to the hospital for treatment, and luckily, she didn't sustain life-threatening injuries.
The suspected cougar was shot by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and a sample of the girl's shirt is being tested to confirm it was the same cat.
Fortunately, these attacks don't happen often. According to the BBC, "Predatory or predation-related attacks are quite rare, only accounting for 17% of attacks in North America since 1955."
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On the other hand, people are having more encounters with wild animals as they wander into populated areas. As humans encroach into wildlife territory, these animals have less land for themselves.
Extreme heat can also force wildlife to venture into populated areas in search of food when prey in their own habitat is scarce.
Why are animal attacks concerning?
According to the Natural History Museum, "As human populations grow, more and more land will be shared between people and wildlife. By 2070, this overlap will have grown across more than half of the world's land surface, forcing us to develop new approaches to our relationship with nature."
As more wildlife encounters happen, the risk of attacks grows as well. A Las Vegas resident was taken aback when his security camera caught a mountain lion in his backyard. He lives near a busy highway, so it came as quite a surprise. He warned his neighbors to keep a lookout.
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Definitely 🥰 What's being done about animal attacks?
With encounters like the one the 11-year-old girl had, there isn't much that can be done about an unprovoked attack.
However, the University of Utah has six safety tips for if you ever encounter a wild animal. They include staying as far away as possible, and if one gets close, to start backing away and making yourself look bigger while talking to show you are a human. The university noted that the National Park Service recommends staying 75 feet away from animals.
As wildlife and people continue to overlap, it's crucial to donate to appropriate causes to protect the natural world and encourage a better relationship between humans and animals.
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