A mother fought off a mountain lion after it attacked her seven-year-old son while he was playing in the family's garden.
Chelsea Bromley heard Zack's screams and rushed to his rescue, finding him with the mountain lion's jaws clenched around his forearm outside their home in Vancouver Island, Canada.
She jumped on top of the animal and tried unsuccessfully to prise its jaw open – until her screams for help caused the big cat to flee.
The boy's father, Kevin Bromley, told Global News there was "blood everywhere".
He said Mrs Bromley had saved their son's life, adding: "She's beside herself. If it had been a bigger cougar, it would have been over."
Zack suffered head, neck and arm injuries and was taken to hospital but is expected to make a full recovery.
Mr Bromley said Zack had been playing by the waterside near the family's home when the mountain lion smashed through a fence separating their house from a neighbour's.
The youngster tried to run away, but the animal pounced on him.
His father said the loose hoodie Zack was wearing had helped protect him from further injury.
"As soon as I saw him yesterday, I just started bawling," Mr Bromley said. "I think today it's starting to sink in for him what happened.
"We're just trying to focus on him and make sure this doesn't impact him mentally or traumatically."
The mountain lion escaped and joined another one waiting nearby, but both were later killed by British Columbia conservation officers.
Guidelines from wildlife officials say that if a mountain lion attacks, you should fight back and convince the animal you are a threat.
The animals are attracted to children as they are harder to distinguish as humans and not prey.
Sky News
