A 7-year-old boy suffered injuries to his head, neck, and arms after he was mauled by at least two cougars on Vancouver Island. The child was outside near the Lakeview Park campground in the town of Lake Cowichan when he was attacked on Friday afternoon, according to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service. The young boy was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital in serious condition. Rod Peters, the mayor of Lake Cowichan, said he spoke with a young girl who was looking after the boy at the time of the incident. “She was the one who told me his arms were chewed in and he’d be OK,” Peters told CTV Vancouver Island on Friday. Neighbours said they’re aware of cougars in the area, but they’re shocked by what happened to the little boy. “It is really horrible to hear when you have a child actually attacked like that,” neighbour Jeff Bain said. “We hadn’t heard any warnings in the past few days from our dogs or anything in the past few days so it’s kind of a surprise.” Conservation officers searched the area and found the two cougars still on property where the boy was attacked. The officers shot and killed both of the animals. “From the first look, they’re quite thin. They’re quite young cats, not looking like they’re doing very well,” Sgt. Scott Norris from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said. “Cats that are not very well fed are the ones that are going to take chances and do things they shouldn’t necessarily be doing.” The family and neighbours said they only saw two cougars, but conservations officers scoured the neighbourhood anyway to ensure there weren’t any others. RCMP advised residents to stay indoors while police and conservation officers worked in the area. “It’s fairly serious,” RCMP Cpl. Chris Manseau said. “It’s not completely uncommon, but still very, very rare. [It’s] just a dangerous situation for everyone.”<doc-sep>A young boy from Lake Cowichan, B.C., has been released from hospital after two cougars attacked him on Friday. The boy was mauled by the large cats at the edge of his yard, sending him to hospital with “significant superficial wounds” until Saturday morning, according to B.C. Conservation inspector, Ben York. “[There were] some claw and bite marks to his head and arm. Fortunately, there [are] no broken bones or internal injuries and he is expected to make a full recovery,” Mr. York said in an interview Sunday. Story continues below advertisement He declined to provide the exact age of the boy, citing privacy, but said he is between 5 and 10 years old. He also said the boy’s mother wrestled the cougar off her son, resulting in some minor bite marks on her hand. After arriving at the scene, a B.C. Conservation team killed the two animals involved. This kind of attack is extremely rare, Mr. York said. He added that his team hasn’t found out exactly why these cougars attacked the child, but noted that they were both young, emaciated and in extremely poor condition. “Often times, we don’t have a clue [why] they pick on a human being," he said. "It seems obvious from the outside, this time around that these animals were starving, for some reason.” A necropsy will be conducted on the two animals next week. British Columbia author Paula Wild, who wrote the 2013 book The Cougar: Beautiful, Wild and Dangerous, said Vancouver Island has the highest density of cougars in the world. She said it’s difficult to track down the exact number, but cited estimates of between 4,000 and 11,000 living in the province. But, according to the website of the Vancouver Island Wilderness and Historical Conservation, a non-profit site hosted by the University of Victoria, Canada has an estimated 4,000 cougars and 3,500 of them live in B.C. Of this, nearly a quarter reside on Vancouver Island. Story continues below advertisement As a result of this density, Vancouver Island also has the highest rate of attacks, Ms. Wild said. “Anybody [who] is living on or visiting Vancouver Island should be aware of that,” she said in an interview. “Just take precautions, especially if you are in kind of a rural area where there are green spaces or something; really pay attention to children.” Mr. York said small children are possibly more attractive to cougars than adults, because they are smaller in size and often act like prey animals. “They will be squealing and screaming, doing things that are more attractive to cougars,” he said. The WildSafeBC website said cougars account for approximately 2,500 calls to the reporting line of the Conservation Officer Service every year. However, Mr. York said he hasn’t seen any evidence that such attacks are increasing. Vanessa Isnardy, provincial co-ordinator for WildSafeBC, said cougar attacks are less likely than attacks by grizzly bears or black bears. Story continues below advertisement However, cougar sightings and attacks often end up garnering a lot of media attention, especially when the cats end up in urban and residential areas. In 2017, two cougars were spotted walking along the SkyTrain track in Port Moody. In 2015, one was sighted several times in downtown Victoria. Ms. Isnardy added that in the past five years, there have been 15 cougar attacks in B.C. that resulted in injuries, including the incident that happened Friday, and no recorded fatalities.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email WARNING: This story contains graphic details some may find disturbing. Discretion is advised. A day after a young boy was mauled by at least one cougar outside the family’s home in Lake Cowichan, his parents say their son is expected to make a full recovery. Seven-year-old Zack sustained injuries to his head, neck and arm in the attack, which happened Friday afternoon just outside of town while the boy’s mother was inside. On Saturday, the boy’s father, Kevin Bromley, said his wife ended up saving their son’s life. READ MORE: Child in hospital with serious injuries after Vancouver Island cougar attack “She’s beside herself,” he said on the phone from Lake Cowichan Saturday. “If it had been a bigger cougar, it would have been over.” Story continues below advertisement Bromley said Zack had gone to the waterfront outside their home, which is in a gated community on the west side of town near the Lakeview Park campground when a small cougar came at him. View image in full screen Chelsea Bromley and her son. Submitted “It hit the mesh fence [separating our house from the neighbour’s], which gave Zack enough time to bolt, but [the cougar] came through the mesh and then jumped on him.” Bromley said the hoodie Zack was wearing helped protect him from the cougar’s thrashing, but the animal then clamped its jaws on the boy’s forearm. That’s when his mom, Chelsea, heard the struggle and came rushing to her son’s rescue. Story continues below advertisement “She jumped on top of this thing, but it just wouldn’t let go of Zack’s forearm so she then had to pry this cougar’s jaw open,” Bromley said. WATCH: A cougar expert talks about how to protect yourself from a cougar attack 7:22 Protecting yourself from conflict with a cougar Protecting yourself from conflict with a cougar – Mar 30, 2019 “She told me she couldn’t do it for two or three seconds but then she screamed ‘help,’ and it just let go and ran off. And there was blood everywhere.” Chelsea then brought Zack inside and called first responders. They arrived within minutes, Bromley said, and took the boy to hospital. Bromley said Zack has been “stoic” in the face of his near-death experience as he recovers at home. The boy has stitches on his arm and on his skull behind his ear. Story continues below advertisement “As soon as I saw him yesterday, I just started bawling,” the father said. “I think today it’s starting to sink in for him what happened. We’re just trying to focus on him and make sure this doesn’t impact him mentally or traumatically. “We took him out for a big dinner last night, and that made him happy,” he added. Original reports said two cougars were involved in the attack. Bromley said it was his younger daughter who spotted a second cougar nearby. View image in gallery mode B.C. conservation officers search for two cougars that attacked and seriously injured a young child in Lake Cowichan Friday. Allen Felker View image in gallery mode B.C. conservation officers search for two cougars that attacked and seriously injured a young child in Lake Cowichan Friday. Allen Felker View image in gallery mode B.C. conservation officers search for two cougars that attacked and seriously injured a young child in Lake Cowichan Friday. Allen Felker B.C. conservation officers responded and said they tracked and killed the two cougars, which they described as juvenile and “quite thin,” suggesting they were starving. Story continues below advertisement A full necropsy will be performed on the two cougars to determine their history and condition at the time of the attack. Sgt. Scott Norris with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said seeing cougars on west Vancouver Island is common. WATCH: (Aired Dec. 18, 2018) 2-year-old boy attacked by cougar near Mission, B.C. 0:57 Cougar attacks 2-year-old boy near Mission B.C. Cougar attacks 2-year-old boy near Mission B.C – Dec 18, 2018 “We are in Lake Cowichan,” Norris said. “There could be numerous cats in and around town at any time.” David Eyer, an expert on the animals, said hearing a child was attacked by a cougar in that area was shocking but not exactly surprising. “Vancouver Island has more cougar attacks than anywhere else,” Eyer said. “I think for somebody living in a town like that, you need to be cautious because these generally younger cougars looking for territory do come into these areas. Everywhere else they go, the adults claim that territory.” Story continues below advertisement — With files from Julia Foy<doc-sep>LAKE COWICHAN, B.C. -- The father of a seven-year-old boy who was attacked by a cougar in a small lakeside community on Vancouver Island is crediting his wife's quick actions for his son's survival. Kevin Bromley says his son Zach was playing in the family's backyard in Lake Cowichan, B.C., on Friday, when a cougar leapt toward him but banged into a fence before clawing its way through. Kevin says his wife Chelsea heard the fence rattle and looked out to see the cougar trying to drag her son away. She jumped down the back stairs and started trying to pry the animal's jaws open, crying out to God for help, before it released its grip on his left arm and ran away. Kevin says Zach is recovering at his grandparents' house with gashes to his head, neck and arm. He says conservation officers have euthanized the animal, which appeared to be a juvenile.<doc-sep>
Send this page to someone via email A young child is being treated for serious injuries after being attacked by at least one cougar outside their home in Lake Cowichan Friday. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) confirmed officers were called to the 500-block of Point Ideal Drive, near the Lakeview Park campground, around 4 p.m. to investigate the attack. Ben York, an officer with the BCCOS’s west coast office, said the child suffered injuries to their head, neck and arms and was taken to hospital. He also said at the time they believed at least two cougars were involved. View image in gallery mode B.C. conservation officers search for two cougars that attacked and seriously injured a young child in Lake Cowichan Friday. Allen Felker View image in gallery mode B.C. conservation officers search for two cougars that attacked and seriously injured a young child in Lake Cowichan Friday. Allen Felker View image in gallery mode B.C. conservation officers search for two cougars that attacked and seriously injured a young child in Lake Cowichan Friday. Allen Felker RCMP said the child is under 10 years old. Police assisted conservation officers in the investigation and in tracking the cougars. Story continues below advertisement WATCH: Child injured in cougar attack on Vancouver Island 1:53 Boy recovering after cougar attack Boy recovering after cougar attack – Mar 30, 2019 Lake Cowichan Mayor Rod Peters, who attended the scene, said he’s heard the child is expected to survive. The gender and exact age of the child is not yet clear. WATCH: (Aired Dec. 18, 2018) 2-year-old boy attacked by cougar near Mission, B.C. 0:57 Cougar attacks 2-year-old boy near Mission B.C. Cougar attacks 2-year-old boy near Mission B.C – Dec 18, 2018 Around 6 p.m., BCCOS confirmed the two cougars had been destroyed, and said they were confident there aren’t any other animals involved or needing to be tracked down. Story continues below advertisement Conservation officer Scott Norris said the two cats killed were juveniles and “quite thin,” and officers are investigating to make sure they were the animals involved. “There is no other cat in the immediate vicinity, but we are in Lake Cowichan,” Norris said. “There could be numerous cats in and around town at any time.” BC Emergency Health Services said the child was taken to hospital by air ambulance around 3:30 p.m. and is in serious condition. At 3:36pm today #BCEHS paramedics responded to a cougar attack in the #CowichanLake area. One patient has been transported to hospital by air ambulance in serious condition. — Emerg Health Services (@BC_EHS) March 30, 2019 Neighbours said they were shocked to hear the news. “It’s really horrible to hear when you have a child actually attacked like that,” Geoff Bain said. “We didn’t hear any warnings from our dogs in the last few days. It’s a surprise.”