Cougar shot after attacking young boy camping on Vancouver Island

Cougar shot after attacking young boy camping on Vancouver Island
Victoria Times Colonist August 16, 2012

PORT ALBERNI — The cougar believed to have attacked a Vancouver Island boy camping with his family on Sproat Lake near Port Alberni has been shot, according to police.
The animal was killed about 5:45 a.m. this morning, after a seven-year-old boy from Port Alberni was attacked on the west end of the lake, said Port Alberni RCMP Const. Tracey Corner.
The attack occurred at 8:24 p.m. Wednesday.
The boy’s father chased off the cougar, police said.
“He received significant injuries to his head and shoulder,” and was taken to West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni for treatment, said Corner.
Conservation officers were immediately notified and began tracking the cougar at first light this morning, Corner said.
The boy’s injuries are believed to include claw and bite marks, according to police.
The Sproat Lake area is rural but does not generate more calls about cougars than one would expect on Vancouver Island, Corner said.
There have been no recent reports of cougars around Sproat Lake, but an 18-month old boy was badly bitten in an attack near Ucluelet, 100 kilometres west, last August.

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