Authorities say a mother fought off a mountain lion that attacked her five-year-old son in Colorado on Friday night.

The Pitkin County sheriff’s office told ABC7 the boy had been playing outside with his older brother about 8pm when the mountain lion attacked, near their home about 10 miles north-west of Aspen.

The mother heard screams from outside and “physically removed her son from the mountain lion”, according to a police statement.

The sheriff’s office said the boy’s mother ran outside when she heard screaming; the boy’s face, head and neck were injured. He was taken to an Aspen area hospital and county undersheriff Ron Ryan told the Aspen Times the boy was conscious and alert.

His mother sustained minor injuries to her hands and legs. An Aspen Valley hospital spokesperson told NBC News she was “released in good condition”.

Sheriff’s deputies and forest service officers found the mountain lion under some trees by the family’s home, near toys and bicycles. The forest service officer killed the lion, the sheriff’s department said.

“Since it was still there, it was either injured or very ill, so they dispatched it,” Ryan said.

Mountain lions are not often seen in Colorado, and attacks are rare. The state parks and wildlife department says there have been “fewer than a dozen fatalities in North America in more than 100 years”.

The department said the the last known lion attack on a human in Colorado occurred in July 2015. A lion attacked a man as he fished along north of Dotsero, about 60 miles from where Friday night’s attack occurred. The man had scratches and bites on his back and was treated and released from a local clinic.

The lion in that incident, described as a small yearling male, was tracked and killed.

If a lion approaches, people should stay calm, attempt to back away slowly and try to appear large. If a lion attacks, the department suggests fighting back with anything at hand, and doing everything to stand up.

“Throw stones, branches or whatever you can get your hands on without crouching down or turning your back,” officials recommend. “Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly. What you want to do is convince the lion you are not prey and that you may in fact be a danger to the lion.”

Parks officials will examine the Aspen lion to determine whether it was ill, and also look for a second lion reported in the area. That lion will also be killed if found.