Conservation officers have shot and killed a cougar that attacked a three-year-old B.C. girl while she was picking berries with her mother Tuesday evening.
The little girl, identified only as Maya Lee, was walking with her mother near their home in the Brackendale area north of Squamish around 6 p.m. when the 80-pund cougar pounced.
Maya's mother, Maureen Lee, said she turned around and saw the cougar "holding (Maya's) head with his paws."
"I jumped and tried to wedge myself in between and jumped on her," Lee told CTV News. "I stood up and pushed him backwards and he just flung back and I just picked her up and started running as fast as I could."
The girl was taken to Squamish General Hospital, where she was being treated for scratches and puncture wounds. She is expected to make a full recovery, as all her injuries could be treated with stitches.
Tracking dogs were called in shortly after the incident and after hours of searching led conservation officers to the adult, male cougar.
The animal was shot and killed, CTV British Columbia reported late Tuesday night.
A necropsy is scheduled, during which time DNA tests will be conducted to confirm that it was the cougar that attacked Maya and why.
The incident is the second cougar attack in the area in less than a week. Last Friday, a cougar ripped a dog from its leash as it walked with its owner along a hiking trail.
Conservation officers killed that cougar as well after they found it to be emaciated and in poor health.
They theorize that the cougars have separated from their mother and have not learned how to hunt properly. There is also speculation that there might not be enough traditional prey -- such as deer - in this area of B.C.
So far this month, there have been 30 cougar sightings in the area, compared to only two during the same time last year.
Cougars generally stay away from humans and historically, attacks on people are incredibly rare.
With a report by CTV's Rob Brown
