Mountain Lion Attacks Girl, 5, in Orange County Park

A mountain lion sprang from brush and badly mauled a 5-year-old El Toro girl Sunday as she and her parents hiked in a rustic park in Orange County, authorities said.

A hiker later identified as Gregory Ysais, 36, of Mission Viejo, used a stick to beat the big cat, which released the child’s head from its powerful jaws and disappeared into a thicket at Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park northeast of San Juan Capistrano.

“There was no warning, no nothing,” said Susan Small, the victim’s mother. “It grabbed her by the head and ran off with her. I thought I would never see her again.”

Emergency Surgery

Blonde, blue-eyed Laura Michele Small was reported in “very critical” condition late Sunday at Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo, where she underwent extensive surgery by a team of specialists for severe wounds to her face and skull.

“I’m very frightened for her,” said Susan Small, 37, “but her vital signs are good.”

State wildlife biologists, wardens and park officials said Sunday’s incident in the 7,500-acre park was the first known attack on a human by a mountain lion in California. The huge cats, also known as cougars, have been on the increase in recent years in the state, prompting controversial legislation to reverse a 1972 statewide moratorium on hunting them,

A search for the cougar was suspended at dusk, but efforts were to continue today, Orange County parks manager Larry Paul said. Meanwhile, 250 campers in the park, a capacity crowd, were evacuated.

Threat to Other Campers

“We’re clearing the park because we don’t want any campers here right now,” Paul said. “It’s for their own safety. If we have a cat that is inclined to attack a human being, we have to make sure we reduce the chance of anyone else getting hurt.”

Laura was attacked at about 2 p.m. as her family walked along a stream-side nature trail. Susan Small said her husband, Donald, and son, David, 9, walked ahead while she and Laura waded into a shallow creek in search of tadpoles. The girl walked onto the bank in a small clearing.

When Susan Small turned to look, she saw a muscular, buff-colored animal she first took for a large dog “grab (Laura) by the head and run off with her. . . . I didn’t even see what direction it took her, but I realized it was a mountain lion and started screaming.”

Donald W. Small, a 39-year-old optical engineer, rushed downstream with his son, who ran for help. The two parents, meanwhile, frantically searched the brushy area for their daughter.

“I heard someone crying, so I headed in that direction,” Susan Small said. Tearing through cacti and underbrush, she stumbled upon the cougar and saw that “it still had (Laura) by the head.”

At the same time, Ysais responded to her cries for help.

“The man (Ysais) had a large stick and he beat the mountain lion off,” the mother said. “. . . I didn’t know if Laura was alive at that point.”

Susan Small, carrying the child in her arms, came upon a park ranger, who administered first aid while awaiting a paramedic helicopter.