Offbeat | Colorado woman pries open mountain lion’s jaws to rescue son

Summoned by the sound of screams, a Colorado woman raced to her front yard to find a terrifying sight: A mountain lion was hunched over her 5-year-old son, biting him.
The woman charged the animal, yanked away one of its paws and discovered her son’s whole head was in its mouth. She didn’t back down.
“She was able to pry the cat’s jaws open,” Pitkin County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Buglione said. “She’s a hero.”
The boy suffered deep cuts to his head, face and neck and was flown to a Denver hospital. The mother, who also had scratches and bites, is credited with saving his life.
The ordeal started Friday evening when the 5-year-old and his older brother were playing outside their home near the resort town of Aspen, Buglione said.
When the woman ran outside, she found the mountain lion crouched over her younger son, who was struggling to get free.
“The boy was completely under the cat,” Buglione told The Aspen Times.
The mother grabbed the lion’s mouth and pried it open, freeing the boy. She then scooped him up and ran away, the deputy said.
The boy’s father had just returned from a run when the attack occurred. He jumped in the car with his wife and son and called 911 as they sped to the Aspen hospital.
From there, the child was flown to Children’s Hospital in Denver in fair condition. On Saturday, a hospital spokeswoman told the Times she was not authorized to release any details on his condition.
The mother suffered bite marks on her hand and scratches on her leg, authorities said. She was treated and released.
The family members’ names were not released.
The mountain lion was estimated to be about 2 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.”
Wildlife officials killed two mountain lions in the area within several hours of the attack. The animals were being examined to determine if they were hungry, diseased or just in the wrong place at the wrong time. AP