When you take little kids on vacation, you expect mishaps here or there -- a scraped knee, a fever -- but you never expect that your child might get attacked and dragged away by a hungry mountain lion! Maybe parents should be thinking a lot more about potential risks like these and go through life with some type of sharp blade. By now you may have heard about the 6-year-old boy who was attacked by a mountain lion while walking with his mom to their room at Big Bend State Park in West Texas, and if you haven't, I'm sure you just screamed WHOA! like I did when I first read the story. Of all the random, freaky things to happen.
The scariest part was how this lion, who apparently had been threatening other visitors of the park, basically swooped in and tore little River Hobbs away from his mother's grasp and proceeded to chomp away at his precious face.
Then, in what is better than a superhero comic, the boy's father Jason Hobbs who was nearby grabbed his pocket knife and began stabbing the ferocious feline in the chest until he released the boy and ran.
I hate to think of what might have happened to River if his fast-thinking dad was not carrying that pocket knife, which he probably never dreamed of using for this purpose. Would fists have done the job or would it have been too little too late? As it was, River needed 17 stitches to the right side of his face. Though I'm sure he will bear the physical (and emotional) scars for the rest of his life, it's a lot better than the alternative if the father were not able to knife the cat away.
The chances of any of our kids getting attacked by a mountain lion is pretty rare in most of our everyday lives, especially if we live in a city. But it just goes to show how you never really know what might happen out of thin air when we least expect it. We hear stories about random strangers lunging at children on the street walking with their mothers, neighborhood dog attacks, and muggers. It's rare but it DOES happen.
I seriously never considered it before, but buying a pocket knife to keep in your purse or diaper bag may be one of those essential tools no parent should leave the home without. Like baby wipes.
Does this story make you want carry a pocket knife just in case ... ?
Image via andymangold/Flickr
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Comments 11
A pocket knife? Against a mountain lion? I'd rather have a gun. And we pack one every time we go camping off the beaten track.
A pocket knife? Against a mountain lion? I'd rather have a gun. And we pack one every time we go camping off the beaten track.
Ditto that. I carry a pocket knife in my purse, but camping = rifle.
Why does every other headline here exhibit that "X proves Y"? One piece of data does not prove anything. My neighbour having a car accident does not prove that one shouldn't drive a red VW Bug, because that was what she was driving at the time.
Oops, just realized the author is the Stir's Managing Editor, so I guess all of the other writers are taking their cues from their leader. Enough said.
It was is Big Bend National Park.
I always carry a pocket knife, except in airports and courthouses! I use it daily, not for protection, but for opening feed bags, hay bales, and general stable work. When I camp, hike, fish, trail ride or (duh) hunt, I carry a handgun in a hip holster. Why? Because not only do we have mountain lions, we also have another fun critter called a javalina, who run in packs and are very protective of their babies. I've been treed (as in, they chased me up a tree) and seen one of my dogs killed by them, before I decided to carry a gun! Oh, and did my dog do anything? Nope, she was on a leash, they were in a brush pile we walked by. What if that had been my son?
I've been stalked by lions and bobcats while riding my horses out, and trailed by coyotes, scared up and angered javalinas more times then I can count. Also, bears, oh, and who knew, but rutting elk can be rightously grumpy too! Yep, like having my handgun, probably a rifle, and a pocket knife, just in case!