Mountain lion attacks 4-year-old walking with family at Washington’s Olympic National Park

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A 4-year-old was hospitalized after being attacked by a mountain lion at a popular national park in Washington.

The animal, which was collared, bit a child walking with family near Victoria Overlook on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park Sunday afternoon, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

Park rangers were alerted to the attack shortly after 3 p.m., and paramedics and park staff responded. 

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A rainstorm rolls across Hurricane Ridge, a popular destination overlooking the Olympic Mountain Range, Sept. 17, 2021, near Port Angeles, Wash.  (George Rose/Getty Images)

The child was transported by medical helicopter to a hospital in Seattle, according to the National Park Service.

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Immediately after the attack, rangers and a canine team began searching for the mountain lion. Staff located the animal that same day and killed the animal the next morning. 

A mountain lion on top of a rock. (Getty Images)

There is no threat to the public, and the attack is under investigation, the National Park Service noted.

“Rangers are still gathering details about the incident,” a spokesperson for the National Park Service told Fox News Digital in an email, adding links to information about cougar safety.

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Anyone who witnessed the incident should contact the National Park Service, the spokesperson added.

Spruce Trail in the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park in Washington state June 23, 2022. (Thomas O’Neill/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Last summer, a 5-year-old boy was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after a mountain lion attack in Southern California. The big cat was later euthanized by California state rangers.

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Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue, which also responded to the incident in Washington, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Sophia Compton is a Digital Production Assistant at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.