British Columbia

Cougar believed to be responsible for B.C. attack has been killed, conservation service says

Attack in Agassiz sent woman to hospital with serious injuries on Tuesday.

Attack in Agassiz sent woman to hospital with serious injuries on Tuesday

Cougars, like the one pictured here, are widely distributed across B.C. but attacks are rare, according to WildsafeBC. (Shutterstock / ovbelov)

The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service says it believes it has killed the cougar responsible for an attack on Tuesday that left a woman in hospital with serious injuries.

The service's predator attack team located two healthy, juvenile male cougars near where the attack took place on a property west of Agassiz, about 110 kilometres east of Vancouver.

The service says the animals could not be relocated, due to the threat they posed, and both were killed.

It says it understands that people may feel passionately about the animals and their well-being, but its focus is on public safety.

Yellow police tape is seen in the area west of Agassiz, B.C., where a woman was attacked by a cougar on May 4, 2021. (Name withheld)

The victim in Tuesday's attack remains in hospital, but the service says she is now in stable condition.

A series of cougar sightings and attacks on dogs earlier this spring in the Port Moody area of Metro Vancouver led to one cougar being caught and euthanized.