news

US mother 'prises open' mountain lion's jaws to save 5yo son from attack in Colorado.

A mother in the US is being hailed as a hero after she “prised open” the jaws of a mountain lion that was holding her five-year-old son by his head, authorities say.

The woman told the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office her five-year-old was playing outside with his older brother when she heard screaming.

She ran outside and saw a mountain lion holding her son by his head.

“She was able to [prise] the cat’s jaws open,” Deputy Michael Buglione told the Aspen Times. “She’s a hero.”

The boy suffered injuries to his face, head, and neck, and was taken to hospital by his father.

He was in a “fair condition”, the sheriff’s office said, while his mother suffered minor injuries to her hand and legs.

The US Forest service found a two-year-old male mountain lion near the area of the attack and put it down.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said witnesses reported seeing two lions before the attack. CPW said the second animal was now being tracked.

The last known mountain lion attack on a human in Colorado happened about a year ago, CPW said, when a young male lion scratched and bit a man who was fishing.

The man was treated at a local clinic.

A mountain lion was suspected of killing a popular koala at an LA Zoo in March this year.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

© 2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Read the ABC Disclaimer here