cougar attack

[Dan Christopher]

CNN.com


Man kills attacking cougar with pocket knife
A 61-year-old man was seriously slashed in a battle with a cougar in British Columbia, but managed to kill the animal with his pocket knife, officials said.
The 100-pound cat leaped on Dave Parker from behind Thursday evening as he walked down a road a mile south of Port Alice, a village on Vancouver Island about 230 miles north of Victoria.
Conservation officer Ken Fujino said Parker was being mauled by the adult male but was able to reach his 3-inch knife. Port Alice Mayor Larry Pepper added Parker then slit its throat.
Despite extensive wounds, Parker managed to walk about a mile for help.
He underwent surgery Friday at Victoria's Royal Jubilee Hospital and was listed in stable condition, said spokeswoman Lianne Peterson.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Jeff Flindall said police found Parker's knife next to the dead cougar.
Vancouver Island has the highest concentration of cougars in British Columbia. Officials said there have been 16 cougar attacks on Vancouver Island since 1970, including three deaths.
The last fatal attack occurred in August 1996 when a 36-year-old woman died while fighting off a cougar that mauled her son.

[Kerry]

I have been to Port Alice and they also have so many bears you you can't go anywhere without seeing one. I saw one in town at mid day feeding on berries.

[skein]

I just got back from the Port McNeil / Port Alice area. In fact we were there when it happened, camped just a few miles from where he got mauled. We've never been up there without hearing of an attack or close encounter nearby. Since Canada won't let us carry a gun, (not without a big hassle, and no handgun at all) we don't spend a lot of time hiking around.

The story as I read it was the cougar jumped him from behind, slamming him into a rock ledge that fractured his jaw. Then it scalped him from the backside, leaving his scalp hanging down over his face and eyes. Next it reached around and ripped his face off (nearly), almost costing him one of his eyes.

He said he grabbed the thing and held it close to his body so it couldn't make full use of its legs and claws, and scrambled for his knife. The picture in the paper looked like a Shrade Folding Uncle Henry (I have one) on a belt. How he got it out and opened is beyond me. He started stabbing it, finally managing to cut its throat.

After that he walked to a log dump where some guys were working and they called in a chopper while they gave him first-aid. How he didn't die from shock is beyond me.

Must be one tough dude.

Skein