Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

Vancouver Island Dad Punches A Cougar In The Face To Rescue His 2-Year-Old Girl From Its Jaws

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Sep, 2015 12:17 PM
    TAHSIS, B.C. — A Vancouver Island man punched a cougar in the face Monday to rescue his two-year-old girl from its jaws.
     
    Travis Nielsen's daughter, Bree, suffered some puncture wounds in the sudden attack, but is otherwise doing fine.
     
    "She was crying but she's OK," said his wife, Andrea Nielsen. "She's got some small puncture wounds just above her right ear, one on her back and then a couple on her chest."
     
    The cougar pounced while the three of them were sitting in their backyard in Tahsis on the west side of Vancouver Island.
     
    "(Bree) was sitting with a six-week-old puppy and we were just kind of looking at the ocean and enjoying the day and then all of a sudden from behind the shed, my daughter was attacked."
     
    Nielsen told The Canadian Press it wasn't immediately clear what kind of animal had the toddler.
     
    "At first, we thought it was a large dog. But then we realized — after my husband pulled my daughter out of the way and punched it in the face — that it was actually a cougar."
     
    The cat dropped the girl and Travis Nielsen yelled at the cougar to "get out of here."
     
    "He was still out there scaring the cougar into the forest even after the fact, once we were all safe in the house," said his wife.
     
    Conservation officers eventually put the animal down and scoured the area for any additional big cats.
     
    "They sent in a team and they had bloodhounds with transmitters on their necks," said Andrea Nielsen. "They were going through the forest and they set up traps."
     
    She said it had been "an intense day." Asked how long it might take for her family to stop shaking, Nielsen replied: "Never."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Final Arguments In Trial Of Montreal Teen Facing Terror-Related Charges

    Final Arguments In Trial Of Montreal Teen Facing Terror-Related Charges
    Closing arguments are scheduled to take place today in the case of a Montreal teen who faces terrorism-related charges linked to a robbery.

    Final Arguments In Trial Of Montreal Teen Facing Terror-Related Charges

    Alberta Researchers Say Discovery Could Be 'Game Changer' For Diabetic Research

    The new pathway was found after researchers examined pancreatic cells from 99 human organ donors.

    Alberta Researchers Say Discovery Could Be 'Game Changer' For Diabetic Research

    Shooting In Wilno, Ont. Leaves 1 Dead, Ontario Police Looking For Gunman Still At Large

    Shooting In Wilno, Ont. Leaves 1 Dead, Ontario Police Looking For Gunman Still At Large
    Police advised local businesses to lock their doors and urged some residents to relocate while they searched for the gunman.

    Shooting In Wilno, Ont. Leaves 1 Dead, Ontario Police Looking For Gunman Still At Large

    Vancouver Whitecaps Fan Christy Clark Trash Talks Seattle Soccer Team In Partisan Tweet

    Vancouver Whitecaps Fan Christy Clark Trash Talks Seattle Soccer Team In Partisan Tweet
    Premier Christy Clark's unabashed support for the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer club is drawing heated debate on social media over her comments directed at the team's rival, the Seattle Sounders.

    Vancouver Whitecaps Fan Christy Clark Trash Talks Seattle Soccer Team In Partisan Tweet

    Crown Wants 20 Years For B.C. Man, Reza Moazami, Convicted Of Luring Teenage Girls Into Prostitution

    Crown Wants 20 Years For B.C. Man, Reza Moazami, Convicted Of Luring Teenage Girls Into Prostitution
    The convictions included sexual assault, sexual exploitation and living off the avails of prostitution

    Crown Wants 20 Years For B.C. Man, Reza Moazami, Convicted Of Luring Teenage Girls Into Prostitution

    Charges Laid In Arsons, Shootings Targeting B.C. Justice Institute

    Charges Laid In Arsons, Shootings Targeting B.C. Justice Institute
    Two men have been arrested and charged for attacks on more than a dozen people linked, sometimes in the most tenuous way, to the institute that trains British Columbia's police officers

    Charges Laid In Arsons, Shootings Targeting B.C. Justice Institute