The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department said a six-year-old boy was injured when a mountain lion attacked him Sunday on a hiking trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The boy was was with his family on a mid-day hike on a well-traveled trail in an open-space preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

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The police said the boy suffered non-life threatening injuries but the child and his family were taken to a hospital.

The name of the boy has not been disclosed although authorities said he was recovering at Valley Medical Center in Santa Clara County.

Based on police report, the attack occurred about 1 p.m. PDT near the Pichetti Winery in Cupertino. How the boy was attacked and how he managed to escape such a horrible incident was not immediately disclosed.

Lion attacks are rare in California although mountain lions are known to be roaming around California's wilderness.

A sign in front of the hiking trail also warns hikers that the area is a mountain lion habitat.

Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup said investigators were still gathering information and the police still do not know the exact circumstances of the attack.

Rangers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, however, said the lion retreated as the boy's parents fought off the animal with everything they can.

Warden Travis Jarrett of the department said the lion managed to drag the boy into a brushy area but the boy's parents fought the animal off.

Trails have immediately been closed as authorities launched a search for the mountain lion to prevent another possible attack.

Stenderup said authorities, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, will continue searching for the mountain lion until sunset.

TagsMountain Lion, California Lion Attack