A 9-year old Stevens County girl has been hospitalized for treatment of injuries from a cougar attack Saturday.
The attack happened at about 11 a.m., at a camp in Fruitland, and the cougar was killed at the scene, according to Staci Lehman, spokeswoman for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“Our primary thoughts are with the girl and the family,” Lehman said in a news release.
The department has recovered the body of the cat for testing, to determine if there could have been a cause for the attack, such as rabies.
Cougar attacks are very rare, with only 20 reported in Washington in a century, according to the department. However two of those have been fatal, including a cougar that killed one mountain biker and seriously injured another in a May 2018 incident in the woods northeast of Snoqualmie.
The other fatal attack was recorded in 1924.
Cougars, also called pumas and mountain lions, are solitary and secretive animals that usually avoid humans.
They have great strength, agility and ability to jump. Cougars live throughout Washington. The largest member of the cat family in the state, males can weigh up to 180 pounds and travel a home range as large as 150 square miles.
They mostly hunt at night. Deer are a favored prey.
The wildlife department has an extensive list of tips to avoid conflict with cougars, and what to do if attacked: make yourself look big, fight back, and don’t run.
