Update Sept. 10, 2013 4:10 p.m.:
The cougar that attacked a 60-year-old woman on a remote beach on Flores Island was a young male, according to Sgt. Ben York of the Conservation Officer Society.
Conservation officers removed the carcass from the village on Sept. 9. Its remains were discovered earlier that day about 20 meters from where it attacked the woman. The woman’s spouse fended off the cougar by stabbing it with a spear.
“It’s pretty darned obvious the cougar died of its stab wounds,” York told Ha-Shilth-Sa.
He said the cougar was about 85 to 90 pounds.
“It looked small but otherwise healthy,” he added.
A necropsy was performed on the cougar Sept. 10 to search for any health issues or clues to determine why it attacked the woman.
The results of the necropsy showed that the cougar was in fair condition.
The veterinarian performing the necropsy reported that the cougar was healthy. but thin and hungry, and that the spear was very definitely the cause of death.
The couple had reported earlier encounters with the cougar within the past month. Also, on June 19, a cougar was caught on camera swimming across the inlet to Ahousaht General Store, about 5 km from where the woman was attacked.
“It’s impossible to say if this is the same cougar that was at the general store, but it’s reasonable to assume that this is the same cougar the couple encountered in the past,” York said.
When asked if the Conservation Officer Services planned to hunt for any other cougars that may be in the area York said no.
“We need a starting point to search for a cougar,” York explained. The cougar that was spotted at the general store wasn’t called in until 15 hours after it was sighted.
York recommends people call in as soon as a cougar is spotted near communities.
“We won’t respond to every call but if we know a cougar has been hanging around a village for months we will likely look into that,” he explained, adding it’s unreasonable to expect to hunt down all the cougars on the island.
Original story Sept. 9, 2013
The woman, a resident of Flores Island but not an Ahousaht member, continues to recover from her wounds in hospital. A 60-year-old woman was airlifted to hospital with life-threating head injuries after being attacked by a cougar on a remote beach about 5 km from Ahousaht.
The attack happened in the early evening of Sept. 8 while the woman was working outside her cabin near Cow Bay on Flores Island. The cougar is believed to have attacked the woman from behind, crushing her skull and tearing her scalp.
She was saved when her spouse attacked and wounded the cougar with a spear. The wounded cougar retreated to the forest.
The woman, whose name hasn’t been released, was taken by boat to Tofino by the Coast Guard then she was air lifted to Victoria General Hospital where her condition was listed as critical.
According to David Carne of the Ministry of Environment, a predator attack response team was dispatched to Ahousaht the following day and located the dead cougar about 20 meters from the cabin. They believe the cat died of its stab wounds.
The Conservation Officer Service has been aware of the cougar’s presence for about two months when the couple first reported encounters with the animal. Poor weather hampered earlier efforts to track the cougar.
The woman underwent emergency surgery and her condition has improved to stable. Carne said it appears she is doing well in her recovery.
The Conservation Officer Service is conducting an investigation into the incident and will do a necropsy on the cougar remains in an effort to determine why it attacked the woman.
On June 19 surveillance cameras at nearby Ahousaht General Store captured footage of a cougar swimming across the inlet to the dock; the cougar proceeded up the ramp to the store but turned and ran when a man armed only with a life ring approached it from the top of the ramp. See the video at http://youtu.be/6WiNgeiaLaw
