Mother Credits Miracle in Mountain Lion Attack on Young Daughter

Another mother has rescued her young daughter from the grips of a mountain lion attack, this time in Idaho where young Kelsi Butt suffered claw and scratch marks but otherwise got away unharmed.

It could have been a lot worse. The mother credits a miracle.

It took some fast thinking on the part of mother Kera Butt, who spotted the mountain lion attacking the 4-year-old. Kera explained to East Idaho News how she saw the backside of the mountain lion dragging her daughter away. 

RELATED: Mom Pries Mountain Lion Jaws to Rescue Young Son

“I saw something attacking so I started screaming and running toward it,” she told the station. “The cat bit her on the side and tried to pick her up and dragged her a little bit but it’s like it couldn’t pick her up or didn’t have a good hold, so it put it’s paws on it to get a good grip and then we were screaming at it running toward it.”

That’s when the mountain lion let go of the little girl and Kera reached her daughter, telling reporters she felt like “angels were protecting her.” 

The girls were camping with family near the Green Canyon Hot Springs in Idaho when the attack occured. Earlier in the evening, Kera had actually noticed the mountain lion in the bushes, but wasn’t sure. 

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“We were kind of teasing her a little bit,” said father Israel Butt. “Like, ‘No way you saw a cat. Are you sure you saw a cat?’ So we walked over there and checked it out and went  back to eating diner.”

Later that evening, as Kelsi was returning from the creek with a 2-year-old and 10-year-old cousin, the mountain lion attack occurred. After the incident, the family packed up camp and took the child to a local hospital. Idaho Fish and Game officials immediately went in search of the cougar with hounds.

At 2 am officials reportedly treed a young female lion a few hundred yards from the camp and the animal was dispatched by deputies from the local Sheriff’s office, according to a press release.

“Cougar sightings are rare, let alone attacks on humans. When lions do attack, records indicate that small children are often the targets. This family showed how vigilance and quick thinking can help avert a tragedy,” the release states.

This is not the first time this year a mother has fended off a mountain lion attack against her offspring. In Colorado earlier this summer, a mother pried the jaws of a mountain lion open to free her 5-year-old son.

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Photo credit: Wikimedia