Mountain Lion that Attacked 6- Year -Old Boy Slain

The mountain lion which attacked a 6- year old boy in Cupertino in Northern California on Sunday was shot dead on Wednesday, said Lt. Patrick Foy of California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

However, wildlife officials are planning  to carry out DNA and disease tests. This is to confirm that they killed the same mountain lion that attacked the boy, reports Associated Press.

"I think it's very, very highly likely, but we can't put a 100 percent stamp on it until we get the DNA," Foy said.

Wildlife officials had set traps and searched for the lion for three days.  They found the lion on Wednesday and dogs treed it before it was shot dead.

Many factors prompted the officials to believe that they had found the same cat, which attacked the boy. The lion was seen 130 yards from the spot where the boy was attacked. It also showed aggression towards the people who found it. Moreover, its physical characteristics also matched the given description.

Defending the decision to kill the lion, official said that public safety is the first and foremost priority of the department.

"No one at the department wanted to destroy this animal but protecting public safety is a first and foremost priority," California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement, reports AP.

Foy said that the search team trapped the lion in a tree about 70 feet high. The lion would have died in a fall if they had tried to dart and capture it, he said.

Meanwhile, the injured boy was released from the hospital on Monday, officials said. The attack had left the boy with wounds and scratches on his head and neck.