Pico Canyon Park in Stevenson Ranch has been closed indefinitely as wildlife authorities observe a mountain lion that reportedly bit a 7-year-old boy, state wildlife officers mentioned Tuesday.

The boy and his father have been strolling up stairs inside the 21-acre park round 7 p.m. Monday when a mountain lion emerged from brush and bit the boy within the buttock, in response to Capt. Patrick Foy of the California Division of Fish and Wildlife.

The daddy, who was strolling behind, heard his son shout in ache and charged towards the mountain lion, which fled.

“The dad closed in on the lion, and the lion retreated again into the comb,” Foy mentioned.

The boy was taken to the hospital with accidents that weren’t life-threatening. Wildlife officers have sampled the chew wound to substantiate {that a} mountain lion was accountable and to acquire a DNA profile of the animal.

The daddy mentioned the mountain lion didn’t look like carrying a GPS collar from the Nationwide Park Service, which tracks the species in Southern California.

Mountain lion assaults on people are uncommon. Round 20 confirmed assaults have occurred in California in additional than a century of record-keeping, Foy mentioned.

As of Tuesday night, the park remained closed whereas the California Division of Fish and Wildlife surveyed the realm. The U.S. Division of Agriculture has assisted within the seek for the mountain lion by setting a baited field entice.

Anybody who observes a mountain lion within the neighborhood of the park is urged to name 911.