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February 15, 2017 - 4:45 PM
VICTORIA - British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says an emaciated cougar that attempted to enter a West Kootney home through a window attacked and injured one of its officers.
Deputy chief Chris Doyle says it's the first time in his two-decade career that a conservation officer has been injured by a cougar.
The officer is based in Castlegar and first responded to a call of a pickup truck that hit an adult cougar near the Village of Salmo shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14.
The cougar was severely injured and the officer had to euthanize the animal before receiving calls of another cougar trying to enter a home 10 kilometres away.
Doyle says while investigating the incident at the home, the officer was attacked by the emaciated juvenile cougar without provocation and had to kill it to stop the attack.
While the officer's injuries were minor, a spokesman for the Conservation Service says the incident is among a spike in cougar conflicts in the region since April.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017