An 8-year-old child suffered minor injuries after being attacked by a cougar (wild cat) in Washington’s Olympic National Park on Saturday evening, park officials said, CNN reported.
The cougar attacked the child while he was camping with his mother at Lake Angeles, in the Heart O’ the Hills area south of Port Angeles, according to a news release from the National Park Service.
The feline predator “casually abandoned its attack after being yelled and screamed at by the child’s mother,” the park service said, as per CNN.
The release said that park personnel were notified about the attack at 6:30 pm and quickly responded.
The child experienced “minor injuries” and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. Park staff escorted the family back to the trailhead, according to the release.
Following the attack, all campers in the Lake Angeles area were evacuated by the staff which closed the Lake Angeles and Heather Park areas until further notice.
Olympic National Park wildlife biologist Tom Kay in the news release said: “Due to the extreme nature of this incident, we are closing the Lake Angeles area and several trails in the vicinity. Out of an abundance of caution, the Lake Angeles Trail, Heather Park Trail, Switchback Trail, and the entire Klahhane Ridge Trail are closed until further notice.”
On Saturday at 5:00 am, park law enforcement and “wildlife personnel specializing in cougar tracking” were sent to the animal’s last known location, the release added. If they locate the cougar, they will euthanize it and perform a necropsy, according to the release, as per CNN.
“This may provide clues as to why the animal attacked since cougars are rarely seen and attacks on humans are extraordinarily rare,” the park service said.
Washington is home to around 1,900 to 2,100 adult cougars, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The department notes that the animals – also called panthers, pumas, and mountain lions – are elusive and rarely interact with humans.
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