An unusually aggressive bobcat attacked two children and two dogs in northeast Georgia, and authorities warn the wild animal may still be in the area.
The separate attacks on the children occurred within a half hour of each other around 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Winterville, a rural community east of Athens.
One of the victims, a three-year-old girl named Crystal, was playing outside her home when the cat pounced, her shocked family told WSB-TV.
“The cat was dragging her under the car,” said Crystal’s grandfather, Michael Scoggins. “My daughter went out and grabbed the baby as soon as she got there.”
The family dog also helped in the rescue.
“It just dropped to the ground and I saw my dog and a cat run out from under the car,” said 13-year-old Mae Scoggins.
Crystal was left with a deep bite wound and broken bones in her hand, the family said, along with claw marks all over her body. She was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Crystal, 3, was left bloodied by the attack, but was in good spirits after being taken to a hospital.
“It could have been worse. If it wasn’t for our dog, the cat could have reached his neck,” Scoggins said, referring to bobcats’ preferred method of killing by biting their prey in the neck.
The family estimated the cat weighed about 50 pounds. Minutes later, a teenager was attacked by the rogue cat, according to Oglethorpe County EMS.
“Oglethorpe is a rural county. Any animal that is native to Georgia, there is a chance that it lives here,” Oglethorpe County EMS spokesperson Jason Lewis told WAGA-TV.
Officials said it was extremely rare for bobcats to attack humans. Crystal’s father estimates the animal weighs 50 poundsGetty Images / iStockphoto The attack on Crystal occurred outside her home in Winterville, a rural community east of Athens, GeorgiaWSB-TV
“But in my 27 years of career, I have never known a lynx attack.”
Authorities said the children received rabies treatment to be safe.
The dogs were attacked in the same area the night before, according to Oglethorpe County Fire and Rescue spokesman Cody Gibbs.
“We suspect it’s the same animal that attacked them all,” Gibbs told USA Today.
“It’s definitely a strange set of circumstances.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn