An 11-year-old girl was injured severely when a mountain lion attacked her at her Malibu home last night and is still being treated in the hospital, officials informed KTLA.
The incident occurred when the girl was at her residence on the 32500 block of Pacific Coast Highway. She was caring for the family’s chickens just before 6 p.m., according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. A young male adult mountain lion emerged from the chicken coop and pushed her to the ground.
The girl’s mother and sister heard her screams and rushed outside, prompting the big cat to turn and charge them.
Fortunately, the girl’s sister was carrying a stun gun with a flashlight on it, and when she fired it, the cougar was scared away.
The 11-year-old, who remains hospitalized, suffered serious injuries to her arm, leg and back, officials said.
Following a search that spanned several hours, the mountain lion was located in some bushes on the property. Officers from CDFW chose to euthanize the animal, noting it wasn’t tagged and lacked any identifiable markings, which indicated it was unfamiliar to wildlife officials.
-
An 11-year-old girl remains hospitalized after she was attacked by a cougar at her Malibu home on Aug. 10, 2025. (KTLA) -
An 11-year-old girl remains hospitalized after she was attacked by a cougar at her Malibu home on Aug. 10, 2025. -
Officers with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife at the scene of the Malibu attack on Aug. 10, 2025. (KTLA) -
Officers with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife at the scene of the Malibu attack on Aug. 10, 2025. (KTLA)
“For them to come onto the property and attack, that’s different from what I encountered,” recounted Cortney Rasura, who had a direct encounter with a mountain lion on a well-trodden hiking trail in Ojai in July, to KTLA. “It just makes me sad that it happened.”
In her case, she yelled at the cougar, scaring it off, but says she now hikes with both bear spray and an airhorn.
According to CDFW, mountain lion attacks are rare, with only 28 verified incidents on humans since 1986. Most of those attacks were non-fatal.
In a similar incident last year, a 5-year-old boy was attacked by a mountain lion at Malibu Creek State Park around 4:30 p.m. while having a picnic with his family at Tapia Park.
In early July, a woman experienced a tense encounter on the popular Gridley Trail in Ojai when a mountain lion appeared from the bushes and started approaching her.
Several children were playing near the family’s picnic site, where at least six adults were present, when the mountain lion attacked the boy, grabbing him by the head and starting to run.
Crowds of people were able to scare the animal away before CDFW officers located the animal in a nearby tree and euthanized it.
As for Sunday’s terrifying ordeal in Malibu, officials are waiting DNA analysis to ensure the cougar euthanized with the involved animal.
