Cougar injures child

Grand Coulee boy receives minor wounds

GRAND COULEE - A cougar pounced on an 11-year-old boy in Grand Coulee Tuesday night, leaving him with minor injuries.

The boy and two of his friends were chasing each other in the back yard of a residence on Columbia Street, Department of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Chris Anderson said.

"The cat bounded out of the surrounding bushes, jumped on the child and ran off," he said.

The boy appeared to have two to three lacerations on his scalp from the cougar's claw but did not require treatment at a medical center, he said. The boy was not bitten but did experience shock.

Witnesses describe the cougar as weighing between 100 and 150 pounds.

It's unclear why the cougar pounced on the child. It's possible it was attempting to play or seeing the children chasing each other might have triggered the cougar to pounce, Anderson said.

If the cougar viewed the child as prey, the attack would have been worse, he added.

Fish and Wildlife and the Grand Coulee Police Department responded to the incident.

Police surrounded the area where the attack took place, Anderson said. An officer shot at the cougar, but missed. The cougar ran from the area and wasn't seen as of Wednesday afternoon.

Cougars can travel large distances quickly, and it's difficult to get close to the animal, he said. It's possible the gunshot scared the cougar out of the area.

A team of hounds from Omak and the Colville Reservation were dispatched to the area immediately to locate the cougar. One hound appeared to find a scent trail but it didn't lead to the predator.

A 30-day permit was issued to the hound teams to locate and kill the cougar.

The cougar will be euthanized because it's clear it has a tendency to harm people, he said. Relocating the animal could lead to the same problem in a different area.

There were previous reports of cougar sightings in the area for the past couple days, according to Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.