Parents Scare Off Mountain Lion to Save 4-Year-Old in Idaho

The animal grabbed the child near a campfire and the girl's parents began yelling, causing the mountain lion to drop the girl and run away

A family camping in eastern Idaho on Friday saved their 4-year-old child after a mountain lion tried to snatch the girl and drag her away, a state fish and game official said.

The incident happened Friday evening at Green Canyon Hot Springs, NBC News reported.

The animal grabbed the child near a campfire and the girl's parents began yelling, causing the mountain lion to drop the girl and run away, Idaho Fish and Game Regional Conservation Educator Gregg Losinski said in a statement.

The girl was unharmed and only suffered a few scratches, Losinski said, but the parents took the girl to a hospital after the attack as a precaution.

Losinski said in the statement that cougar sightings are rare and attacks are rarer, but when there are attacks cougars usually target small children. The parents had seen the mountain lion earlier in the day and Losinski said their close watch and quick thinking saved the child's life.

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