7-year-old boy recovering from cougar attack

EDITOR’S NOTE: Some readers may find parts of this story graphic

Cason Feuser is recovering at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, after a vicious cougar attack on Sunday.

Chay Feuser, Cason’s mom says he was camping with their neighbour and their children near Rocky Mountain House when the attack happened. Feuser says the six kids were playing by the river when the cougar started attacking out of nowhere. She says the kids started screaming and running when their neighbour grabbed a rock and threw it at the cougar, which then released the boy.

Chay Feuser was in Dawson Creek, British Columbia when she got the call that forever changed her life. “All she said was ‘Cason’s been attacked by a cougar, STARS is coming to get him, you just need to get in your truck and get here’,” she says.

Cason spent three and a half hours in surgery and had over 200 staples, and stitches over his face, neck, and head. He’s now on the long road to recovery. “The physical part will be just resting and healing that way, but the mental part I’m nervous to see how that plays out,” says Chay Feuser.

“If it was an older cougar it would have snapped his neck and crushed his skull and took him in a heartbeat, so the fact that it was an adolescent cougar and it was just learning and figuring out what to do, it saved Cason’s life.”

Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services captured the adolescent cougar that afternoon, not far from the attack site along Baptiste River. Through DNA analysis, they were able to determine the female cougar euthanized was responsible for the attack. “A cat looks at everything potentially as a food source,” says Mike Ewald, the Provincial Problem WIldlife Special with Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services.

Cougar encounters are rare, but it’s important to know what precautions to take and what to do if you encounter a cougar. Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services recommends:

• Travelling in groups and carrying some form of protection, such as bear spray. Be prepared to use bear spray when outdoors during any time of year;
• If you see a cougar in the distance, do not run or turn your back;
• If the cougar appears to be unaware of your presence, gather children and pets in close, slowly and cautiously back away and leave the area;
• If a cougar is hissing and snarly or staring intently and tracking your movements, do not run, and do not play dead. Make yourself look big and speak loudly. If the cougar makes contact, fight back and don’t give up. Use all means at your disposal;
• More cougar safety tips can be found on the provincial government’s website.

Disclaimer: Some may find the following photos graphic

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Chay Feuser says family walks on the trail will never be the same but says it’s a reminder that they are in the cougar’s territory.

“It was a freak accident, it was so rare for this to happen so I’m really trying to not let that fear take over and control me and still live in freedom but I don’t know, it’s going to be hard,” she says.

Mike Ewald says there has only ever been one cougar-caused fatality in Alberta.

“Normally prey has a horizontal back, so even with deer which is one of their more common prey sources, they jump on the back and try to choke out the animal. Thankfully we stand up right, and so that’s what to do. Never play dead, and make lots of noise and you won’t be the typical prey they go for. And so why this cat did this, I don’t know.”