California

Mountain Lion ID'd as Attack Cat: Fish and Game

The mountain lion killed in Cupertino this week was indeed the animal that attacked a 6-year-old boy, and the big cat did not have rabies, lab results released Friday showed.

California Department of Fish and Game Lt. Pat Foy said the testing was completed Wednesday at the agency's wildlife center in Sacramento, confirming the DNA of the mountain lion was one and the same. He was 74 pounds and about two years old, the results showed.

The UC Davis California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory said the rabies test came back negative, which means the boy can discontinue the rabies shots.

The mountain lion attacked the boy on Sunday about 1 p.m. along the Picchetti Ranch Zinfandel Trail, biting his neck and body. The boy was released from the hospital the following day.

On Friday, Amanda Kim, spokeswoman for the MidPeninsula Regional Open Space District, said the trail is still closed for "cleanup." Updates about the trail can be found here.

Trackers killed the lion on Wednesday near the same spot where the boy was injured.

An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions live in California.

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