4-year-old Airlifted To Hospital After ONP Cougar Attack

A 4-year-old child out with their family in Olympic National Park was airlifted to Harborview Hospital yesterday after being bitten by a radio-collared cougar.

The attack occurred near Hurricane Ridge and the cougar was subsequently killed today, reports the National Park Service.

“There are no current threats to the public,” an NPS news release states.

No details were released on the victim – late Monday, KIRO TV reported the child had been treated and released from the hospital – but rangers are looking for witnesses to the attack, which occurred near the Victoria Overlook just north of the main parking areas at Hurricane Ridge around 3:15 p.m.

“A canine team joined the search at approximately 5 p.m. the same day. Rangers located the cougar shortly after the canine team joined the effort but did not complete the dispatch operation until the following morning,” NPS reported.

Witnesses to the attack are asked to call (888) 653-0009 or email nps_isb@nps.gov.

Cougar studies on the Olympic Peninsula in recent years have tracked the movements of dozens of collared animals across this varied landscape.

A post on Friends of Olympic National Park purports to show a collared cougar near Hurricane Hill on July 7. Video taken around the time of the attack showed blacktail fawns nearby, KIRO reported.

Secondhand reports from the scene say that the child’s father “chased after the cougar and got his child away,” according to reporter Jake Chapman.

In late July 2023, an 8-year-old suffered minor injuries from a cougar at Lake Angeles, to the north of Hurricane Ridge.

WDFW confirmed that the collared cougar removed today was not wearing an agency collar.

But it did confirm a cougar incident elsewhere in Western Washington on Monday. WDFW Police spokeswoman Becky Elder said game wardens and a local dog handler unsuccessfully tried to locate a cougar that approached a man walking his dog on private timberlands in Lewis County.

Elder said the dog bit the cougar and during the man’s retreat, he suffered an ankle injury and was checked by local officers but didn’t want any further treatment.

“Neither he nor the dog received any injuries from the cougar,” she stated.