B.C. conservation officer attacked, injured by cougar in West Kootenay region
VICTORIA — An emaciated cougar that tried to enter a West Kootenay home through a window attacked and injured a conservation officer this week in British Columbia.
Deputy chief Chris Doyle of the Conservation Officer Service said Tuesday it’s the first time in his two-decade career that an officer has been injured by a cougar.
“Fortunately, it’s very unusual but it’s a good reminder of the risks officers face when they’re responding to various human-wildlife conflicts,” he said in a conference call.
The officer is based in Castlegar and first responded to a call of a pickup truck that hit an adult cougar near the Village of Salmo shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday. The cougar was severely injured and the officer had to euthanize the animal before receiving calls of another cougar trying to enter a home 10 kilometres away.