Mother of puma attack victim fears for children’s safety

Jan 08, 2014 News

– Seeks assistance to clear “bushes” around home
The mother of the three-year-old girl who was mauled by a large feline, suspected to be a puma, is scared that another wild animal might attack her daughter.

On the road to recovery.

The mother, Desiree Joseph is pleading with the relevant authorities to assist in the clearing of the thick bushes around her home as soon as possible to prevent any future tragedy.
“I have six children and I would like the authorities to do something about those bushes around the house,” Joseph stressed.
Jasmine Joseph of Isseneru, Region Seven was playing in her yard on December 27, last when she was attacked and dragged into the nearby bushes by the wild animal which “let go” of the child only after residents intervened with a cutlass.
The animal was killed and the little girl was air-dashed to the city and placed on a life support machine for several days. She suffered from a fractured left jaw and a fractured skull. She underwent a plate implantation for a fractured skull.
The attack on the child which resulted in her being hospitalized was the second within one month. Her grandmother, Agatha Joseph had told this newspaper that “Last month (late November last) the animal jumped on her and scraped her on her foot but I hit it and it get away.”
Yesterday, a medical source said that the little girl is a “fighter. She survived that attack like a ‘champ’. She is eating as per normal and she is now in a healing process. “
When Kaieteur News visited the little girl at the hospital yesterday, she was on her hospital bed eating, with her grandmother, Agatha, by her side. The little girl would only say, “he jump pon me and I fall down.”
The mother said that her daughter will be discharged from the hospital very soon but she is scared to return home with the child.