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‘She’s the hero’: Mom saves son, 7, from cougar attack in Lake Cowichan

The father of a seven-year-old boy attacked by a cougar in Lake Cowichan on Friday says the boy’s mother jumped on top of the animal and pried its jaw open to save her son. “She’s the hero,” Kevin Bromley told CHEK News .
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Chelsea Bromley and her son, Zachary, 7.

The father of a seven-year-old boy attacked by a cougar in Lake Cowichan on Friday says the boy’s mother jumped on top of the animal and pried its jaw open to save her son.

“She’s the hero,” Kevin Bromley told CHEK News.

Zackary was playing in a fort in his backyard when the cougar came over the fence and attacked him, Bromley said. Luckily, he was wearing a hoodie that blocked the cat’s first big bite to his neck

Mom Chelsea heard the commotion, rushed outside and jumped onto the cat, managing to get the animal off the boy.

The cougar fled with another cougar that was watching nearby. Both Zackary and Chelsea were rushed to hospital.

Zackary suffered head, neck and arm injuries, and was airlifted to Cowichan District Hospital before being transferred to Victoria. He was released from hospital Saturday. Chelsea suffered bite wounds and is recovering.

Both cougars were destroyed. Conservation officers have installed a live trap and motion sensor in the family’s backyard in case the two cougars’ mother turns up. 

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CHEK News video: Mom rescues son from cougar attack at Lake Cowichan