What began as a family picnic during Labor Day weekend turned into a nightmare for a Southern California family when a mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy and attempted to drag him into the woods. His relatives managed to rescue him from the wild animal's jaws, authorities reported. The bold attack occurred at 4:21 p.m. on Sunday at Malibu Creek State Park, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, leaving the child with "significant but non-life-threatening injuries," according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The family, consisting of six adults and several children from Woodland Hills, California, was having a picnic in the park located in the Santa Monica Mountains when the large cougar suddenly appeared and grabbed the boy as his family and other witnesses watched in horror, the statement said.

"The children were playing near the family’s picnic table when the mountain lion attacked the boy," wildlife officials said. "One or more adults charged at the lion, and it released the boy." The child, whose name has not been released, suffered bite and scratch wounds and was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he was treated and released, officials said. "Several witnesses saw the attack and observed the mountain lion climbing a nearby tree," according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

When state park rangers and Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies arrived, the mountain lion was still in the tree. The CDFW deemed the mountain lion a threat to public safety, and park rangers euthanized the animal by shooting it, officials said. Following standard protocol, wildlife officers visited Northridge Hospital Medical Center to collect evidence samples of the bite and scratch wounds on the child, as well as from his clothing. "Those samples were confirmed as a DNA match by the CDFW's Wildlife Forensic Lab in Sacramento," officials added.

This incident comes after a 21-year-old man was killed by a cougar that attacked him and an 18-year-old in May in El Dorado National Forest, about 52 miles northeast of Sacramento. Authorities noted it was the first fatal mountain lion attack in the state in 20 years. Since 1890, fewer than 50 mountain lion attacks on humans have been reported in California, including six that have been fatal, officials said.