Family fights off rabid mountain lion
Published: March 11, 2008 at 6:35 PM
GLENDALE, Ariz., March 11 (UPI) -- An Arizona man says an attack by a rabid mountain lion in the Tonto National Forest was not enough to shake his grandson's unflappable calm.
Newton Smith of Glendale said his grandson, Paul John Schalow, 10, walked away from the attack with only cuts and scratches after the beast was shot by the boy's uncle, The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.
"Paul said to himself, when the lion was on him, 'I know he's trying to push me, and I wasn't going to let him,'" Smith said.
The victim and five family members who were exposed to the lion are receiving post-exposure rabies shots after the animal tested positive for the disease, said Randy Babb, a biologist with the Arizona Game & Fish Department.
Babb said the incident marked the first reported rabid mountain lion attack in his 20 years with the department.
"It's very unusual," Babb said. "You see rabies in mostly rats, foxes, skunks, other species. It's an unusual occurrence when you see rabies in a lion."
Newton Smith of Glendale said his grandson, Paul John Schalow, 10, walked away from the attack with only cuts and scratches after the beast was shot by the boy's uncle, The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.
"Paul said to himself, when the lion was on him, 'I know he's trying to push me, and I wasn't going to let him,'" Smith said.
The victim and five family members who were exposed to the lion are receiving post-exposure rabies shots after the animal tested positive for the disease, said Randy Babb, a biologist with the Arizona Game & Fish Department.
Babb said the incident marked the first reported rabid mountain lion attack in his 20 years with the department.
"It's very unusual," Babb said. "You see rabies in mostly rats, foxes, skunks, other species. It's an unusual occurrence when you see rabies in a lion."
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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