An eight-year-old boy was struck by luck when he was attacked by a puma in Olympic National Park, Washington, last weekend. He was camping with his mother at Lake Angeles when the predator attacked him on Saturday night. This was announced by the national park in a statement. The cougar looked away from the boy because his mother intervened. She yelled at the wild animal. Park staff then rushed over and provided initial care for the eight-year-old.
The family was then taken to the starting point of the trail and the boy was taken to a hospital, they say. For him, the Puma attack went off lightly, because he only suffered minor injuries.
Because of the incident, all other campers in the area have been evacuated and Lake Angeles and Heather Park have been closed until further notice. “Due to the extreme nature of this incident, we are closing the Lake Angeles area and several hiking trails in the area,” said Olympic National Park wildlife biologist Tom Kay.
On Sunday morning, the park’s police and specialized wildlife personnel began searching for the cougar. If found, he should be put down. A necropsy should finally provide the reason for his attack on the boy. Attacks on people are “extraordinarily rare”, even if the entire park is considered a “puma area”.
According to the state Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, there are approximately 1900 to 2100 adult cougars living in Washington. According to the agency, the predators are difficult to catch and rarely interact with humans. “A person is a thousand times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a cougar,” CNN quoted the agency as saying. But because Washington’s population is growing and more and more people are out in the wild, the likelihood of observing or encountering a cougar can increase.
According to the national park, it is important that park visitors “are prepared for an encounter with the puma”. The park recommends not hiking or jogging alone and always be aware of your surroundings. Children should not be left out of sight and pets should not be taken into the park. If there is an encounter with the wild big cat, the park recommends getting together in a group in order to appear as large as possible. You should also make a lot of noise and throw stones or other objects at the animal to scare it off.
Sources: Olympic National Park, CNN
