A father had to act fast while hiking with his young child in Washington state on July 20, 2025. The unnamed dad and his 4-year-old came upon a mountain lion near the Victoria Overlook area on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. The cougar attacked the young child and their hero father fought the animal off, ultimately saving the child’s life. While the story has a happy ending, some believe the family put themselves in danger by entering the animal’s habitat.
According to a news release from the National Park Service, a collared mountain lion attacked the child on a trail around 3:15 p.m.
“Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue (Clallam County Fire District 2) paramedics and park staff responded to the incident and transferred the victim via LifeFlight to a Level 1 Trauma Center. The patient is undergoing treatment for their injuries in a Seattle hospital,” the release noted.
Steve Murrow told KIRO that while he didn’t see the actual attack, he heard the child screaming and moved toward the action at Hurricane Ridge. He said others told him the father fought the mountain lion off to save his child.
“There was a group of people walking briskly by. We think it was the mom holding the child. The kid was crying still. Wasn’t screaming, but sobbing. There was a woman next to them leaning on the mom’s back saying ‘you’re doing good. You’re doing good,'” Murrow said. “And then there was another group of people behind them and they were all huddled up and like ‘you guys need to be careful. There was literally just a cougar or a wolf attack.'”
He added that had the father not acted quickly, things could have been very different.
“I don’t think that kid would survive if it wasn’t for his dad jumping in,” he said. “I mean, he’s a hero. You know, it just boils down to safety in numbers and it is rare that something like this would happen.”
Per the National Park Service, canines helped locate the mountain lion and rangers “dispatched” the animal the following day. “There are no current threats to the public,” the agency noted.
Many in the KIRO comments section on Facebook criticized the family for putting themselves in danger.
“They were walking in the cougar’s home, and everyone is shocked this happened,” someone wrote.
“This should never have happened,” another person commented. “This mountain lion should never have been put down. If you have small children, please don’t let them hike in places like this … unless you are carrying them. This is just heartbreaking.
But not everyone judged the family so harshly. Some felt officials made the right call.
“Article notes the child was with the family, it’s an incredibly populated trail-that’s paved NOT in the middle of nowhere, and this cat was habituated, not scared by people,” a follower wrote. “Shame on no one — if anything shame on the park for reopening after reports of this lion showing habituated behavior before the attack.”
