6-year-old boy attacked by mountain lion is getting rabies shots

A 6-year-old boy who was attacked by a mountain lion during a day hike with his parents in Santa Clara County has been receiving rabies shots as a precaution, officials said Thursday.

A mountain lion believed to be responsible for the attack Sunday in Cupertino was shot and killed by game officials Wednesday.

Scientists won’t have test results showing whether the mountain lion had rabies until at least Friday, said Kirsten Macintyre, spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Until then, the boy must continue the shot regimen.

“It’s a very unpleasant process,” Macintyre said.

Wildlife officials will remain at the open-space preserve where the mountain lion was shot and killed until DNA tests confirm it was the same cougar that attacked the boy. The hiking trail in the preserve will remain closed for several days.

“We are nearly certain we got the cat we were looking for, but until we get the definitive results back from the DNA tests, it would be premature to pack out all the equipment and reopen the trail,” Macintyre said.

Wildlife experts used tracking dogs to find the unusually aggressive 65-pound cougar hiding 70 feet up a tree.

The cougar was fixated on a officer before it was shot with a rifle, officials said.

Immediately after the cougar was shot, officials said they believed it was the same mountain lion that attacked the boy because it remained in the area and it displayed territorial behavior.

Game wardens, trackers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and search dogs had been looking for any sign of the cougar since the attack.

The boy and his parents were hiking Sunday afternoon when the cougar tried to drag the boy into the brush, authorities said.

The boy’s parents were able to fight off the mountain lion. The boy was treated at a San Jose hospital for puncture wounds and cuts to his head and neck.

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