UCLUELET, B.C. — A family who appears to have done everything right when confronted with a cougar on a beach inside Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim National Park still couldn’t keep the animal from attacking their 18-month-old son.
The toddler is now listed in serious condition in Vancouver’s Children’s Hospital and is being monitored closely, according to a statement released on behalf of the family by the Provincial Health Services Authority.
Renee Wissink, manager of resource conservation at the park, said the boy was injured Monday around suppertime on the beach of a popular day-use area at Kennedy Lake, some 16 kilometres east of the community of Ucluelet.
“When the attack occurred, (family members) stood their ground, they made a lot of noise, they frightened the cat off right away so the contact was very, very brief,” he said.
Wissink said the child’s father asked for help at the local visitor’s information centre and an ambulance was called. The boy was eventually transferred to Vancouver.
The hunt is on as park officials attempt to find the animal, said Wissink.
“We do, at the moment, have several teams out including a dog team which is attempting to locate this cougar which, when found, will be destroyed as a result of the public safety threat that it poses.”
Bob Hansen, wildlife-human conflict specialist at the park, said two teams of park staff and conservation officers and two teams of hounds are searching for the cougar.
Hansen said the search has been going on since shortly after the attack and will continue until the animal has been tracked down.
The Kennedy Lake day use area is closed to the public for now.
In a statement released by the Provincial Health Services Authority, the family thanked everyone who has helped out, as well as their friends on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
“The family is focusing all of their energy on their son’s recovery and are asking the media to please respect their privacy today and in the days ahead so they can concentrate on their son’s health,” noted the statement.
The family said it would not be granting interviews.
Community members reacted quickly and wished the family well on several Facebook threads.
“If that cougar was on my island, I would be pit lamping it right now,” wrote Lana Gibson, a long-time Tofino resident. Pit lamping is a procedure in which hunters use lights to help kill prey at night.
“I do amazingly well with a Ruger 22,” wrote Erika Scott, referring to a firearm.
“Any cat that attacks a kid should be a dead cat,” added Dave LeBlanc. “The excuse that humans encroach on cougar habitat is wrong. People have been safely going to Kennedy Lake for decades.”
A wolf and cougar advisory has been in effect in the region since Aug. 13 because of increased activity by predators in the area.
Wissink said a cougar approached a jogger on a local road on Aug. 1, and about one week later, a cougar was destroyed in Ucluelet.
— Keven Drews in Vancouver