MALIBU, Calif. — An 11-year-old girl was injured by a mountain lion outside her home in Malibu on Sunday evening. The attack occurred near a chicken coop on the property, where the cougar approached the girl from behind, biting her arm, leg, and lower back, according to Peter Tira, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The girl’s mother heard her screams and rushed to help, accompanied by one of the girl’s siblings. Tira reported, “That’s when the mountain lion proceeded to chase the mother and the sibling.” Fortunately, another family member had a stun gun, and the noise from the device frightened the mountain lion away.

The girl was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital. Following the incident, wildlife officers located a mountain lion in the vicinity and euthanized it. DNA testing will determine if this animal was responsible for the attack.

Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare. Since 1986, there have been 27 confirmed attacks, most of which were nonfatal. The last fatal attack occurred in March 2024, when a mountain lion killed a 21-year-old man near Georgetown in Northern California. In September of the previous year, a mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy at Malibu Creek State Park, but he sustained only non-life-threatening injuries.