A cougar
© DreamstimeA cougar
A child was attacked by a mountain lion in a Colorado subdivision Wednesday night, and a hunt was on for the animal in the community of Bailey, wildlife officials said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the department that manages 42 state parks and all of Colorado's wildlife, said that it had confirmed a mountain lion attack on a young boy and that a dog team was called in to help officers search for the animal.

The boy was taken to a hospital, the department said, but his condition was not immediately disclosed.

A spokesman for the department did not immediately return an email late Wednesday seeking more details.




The department urged residents in Bailey, a community in Park County about 35 miles southwest of downtown Denver, to keep their pets indoors as officials searched for the mountain lion.

Mountain lion attacks on people are rare, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. There have been fewer than a dozen fatal attacks on people in North America in the last 100 years, the department states on its website.

The attacks typically involve young mountain lions, according to the department.

In February, a mountain lion later described as a young cub attacked a runner near Fort Collins, which is around 85 miles north of Bailey. The runner killed the animal in the struggle.

Wildlife officials said that male mountain lion was between 4 and 5 months old and likely weighed between 35 and 40 pounds at the time of the Feb. 4 attack.

Population estimates of mountain lions in Colorado range from 3,000 to 7,000 mountain lions, according to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.