The Spanish artist Raquel del Rosario, singer of the group El Sueño de Morfeo, has explained on social networks how she saved her 5-year-old son from the attack of a puma at her home in California, an incident reported by the media in August without revealing then who was the woman who managed to hit the animal to force it to escape.
"Even today I can not understand how I crossed the garden in milliseconds or where the force came from that made me repeatedly hit the animal with my fists to get rid of it," the singer revealed this Sunday in a publication on the social network Instagram, in which he shows an image of the marks that the mountain lion left on his son's back.
That morning of August 26, Mael, 5, was picking fruit from a tree in the garden when her mother heard
a cry
that she says she still has not been able to forget.
"A cougar had jumped on him and
was fiercely
hurting him
with its claws,
" explained the 39-year-old artist.
Together with her husband, Pedro Castro, she managed to rescue the little boy and take refuge in his home, escaping from a second cougar that had appeared on the spot.
A cougar captured on December 12, 2019 in Simi Valley, California, with a GPS collar to track it, in an image provided by the National Park Service.National Park Service via AP / National Park Service via AP
The minor required surgery due to the injuries sustained in the attack, although Del Rosario did not detail what the injuries consisted of.
"
A few more millimeters and I would not have succeeded,
" said the doctor who treated him.
The little boy made a quick recovery and was discharged three days later.
Infrequent attacks
Cougar attacks on people are rare, according to California authorities.
Since 1890, there have been a small number of incidents, of which six were fatal.
In most cases, the person was alone.
While the boy was in the hospital, authorities discovered that
the cougar was still hiding in the singer's garden
.
Although cougars are "specially protected species" in California,
the animal was euthanized
based on state law.
"We would have liked and I know that they [the authorities] also had a different outcome regarding the animal, but
that decision did not correspond to us
," said the singer.
[The two friends faced the cougar. Only one of them managed to escape alive]
Shortly after, two more pumas appeared: the mother and the brother of the sacrificed feline.
"She positioned herself next to the lifeless body of her son and we exchanged a look of pain that I will never forget, you cannot imagine the dreams I have had with her," he admitted.
"I left home with a broken heart and endless mixed feelings about everything that happened, but at that moment I
could only think about protecting Leo [his other son] and being close to Mael,
" he said.
A feat that made news
"When we got home from the hospital, the neighborhood was full of news trucks covering the news. I curled up in the car seat while I watched the scene out the window and I felt like I was living a real movie," said the singer.
A cougar chased a hiker for 6 minutes
Oct. 14, 202001: 08
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is studying whether to designate the cougar as an endangered animal.
It is unknown how many individuals there are statewide, although a 1996 state study found there were between 4,000 and 6,000.
Cougars live mainly in the mountains where deer live, since these are their main source of food.
Del Rosario's family, according to her account, has spent these last weeks "going through that pain, feeling it and accepting it," said the singer, "taking refuge once more in nature, unpredictable like a wild animal or the eruption of a volcano, but healing and magical at the same time. "
