A mother saved the life of her five-year-old son by fighting off a mountain lion with her bare hands. 

The boy was playing in the front yard of his home in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles, when a 65-pound mountain lion attacked him, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement Saturday.

Speaking with the Associated Press, Department spokesman Patrick Foy said the mountain lion "dragged him about 45 yards" before his mother, who heard her son's screams, sprang into action. 

"The true hero of this story is his mom because she absolutely saved her son’s life," Foy said.

"The mother was inside the house when she heard commotion outside. She ran out of the house and started punching and striking the mountain lion with her bare hands and got him off her son."

The boy sustained wounds to his head, neck and upper torso. He was rushed to a children's hospital in Los Angeles, where he remains in stable condition. 

Upon receiving notification of the attack, CDFW said law enforcement went to the family's home to investigate. They discovered an "aggressive" mountain lion crouched in the corner of the yard and, "due to its behavior and proximity to the attack," determined that it was likely the lion responsible for the attack and "to protect public safety shot and killed it on site." 

Shortly after, two other mountain lions appeared, one collared and the other uncollared. Because the lion that attacked the boy was uncollared, a CDFW officer used a  "non-lethal tranquilizing rifle to capture the other non-collared lion."

The mountain lion that attacked the boy was a kitten born in October, according to CBSLA. Experts believe the attack occurred because the mountain lion was still learning how to hunt and fend for itself and, seeing the small size of the boy, went for him. 

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