A cougar was shot dead by conservation officers after it attacked a three-year-old girl while she was picking berries in western Canada, authorities said on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
The girl named Maya was walking with her mother near their home in the Brackendale area north of Squamish in southwestern British Columbia province on Tuesday evening when the cougar pounced, the Canadian Television reported.
When the mother found the cougar on top of Maya she picked up the cougar, threw the cougar off Maya and ran for it, the report cited a neighbor as saying.
The girl was taken to Squamish General Hospital, where she is being treated for scratches and puncture wounds. She is expected to make a full recovery.
Tracking dogs were called in shortly after the incident, and hours of searching led conservation officers to the adult, male cougar, which was shot and killed.
A necropsy will be done to confirm that it was the cougar that attacked Maya and why with DNA tests.
The incident is the second cougar attack in the area in less than a week. Last Friday, a cougar ripped a dog from its leash as it walked with its owner along a hiking trail.
Conservation officers killed that cougar as well after they found it to be emaciated and in poor health.
So far this month, there have been 30 cougar sightings in the area, compared to only two during the same period last year.
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