Homeless Man Mauled by Mountain Lion in California is 'Lucky to be Alive'

A mountain lion attacked a homeless man in Southern California over the weekend and wildlife officials in Riverside county searching for the animal believed to be involved in the attack.

The unidentified man, thought to be in his 50s, was badly mauled, but is expected to survive, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, who spoke with Lt. Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

"He's lucky to be alive," Foy said.

The incident took place around 8 p.m. on Feb. 1, the Press-Enterprise reported, adding that the man was camped out near State Route 74 west of the city of Perris, which is about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

The man reportedly had no idea what attacked him, but managed to survive the attack and make it to a nearby house where he asked for help.

He suffered lacerations, puncture wounds and bite marks at the base of the skull, according to a news release from the CDFW, which said the injuries were consistent with a mountain lion attack.

"We are about 99 percent that it was a lion," Foy told the Press-Enterprise. "The conclusion is based solely on the victim's injuries and the extent of the injuries."

The man was treated at a local hospital, and had emergency surgery Saturday night, but his condition is unknown, according to the CDFW.

Game wardens set up traps in the area to capture the mountain lion. The cats are known to return to the site of a kill 24 to 48 hours later to continue feeding and the CDFW said it "will make all reasonable efforts to ensure the actual offending animal is destroyed" noting doing so would be in "the interest of public safety."

DNA samples collected from the victim will enable wildlife officials to identify the mountain lion that attacked him.

Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare, with Saturday's incident being the 15th verified attack on a human in California since 1986, the CDFW said. Three of the attacks have been fatal, with the last deadly one occuring in January 2004 in Orange County.