A camping trip almost turned deadly for a 9-year-old girl who survived a cougar attack on Saturday morning near Fruitland, Washington.
The girl's heroics saved the lives of her friends who were with her when they came across the animal and then ran off while she stayed back and fought the beast to the best of her abilities.
Adults who were with the group quickly came to the girl's aid, finding her covered in blood from the encounter.
The 9-year-old was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she was given medical attention, including surgery for multiple wounds on her head and upper body. She is now recovering.
As for the young male cougar, others were able to track it down and kill it.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Staci Lehman shared in a news release that an attack from a cougar is deadly in most cases but also extremely rare. Lehman said that there have only been 20 attacks and two fatalities in the last century in the state.
According to the news release, a cougar killed a mountain biker and severely injured another in May 2018. The only other killing before that was in 1924.
"In this instance, this little girl did nothing wrong," Lehman said in the release. "It happened so quickly, and there's nothing she could have done to prevent it."
Lehman explained that when confronted by a cougar, you want to yell and make yourself look big and "fight back as hard as you can and try to stay on your feet," just like the 9-year-old did.
"Do not turn around. Don't take your eyes off the animal," Lehman added. "Don't run."
It is unknown why the cougar attacked the girl, but the department has recovered its body, and they are testing it to determine if there could have been a cause like rabies.
Related
