UCLUELET – For the first time since a cougar attacked an 18-month-old toddler on Vancouver Island Monday night, the boy's mother is talking publicly about what happened.
Sarah Hagar says the last couple of days have been surreal, but she is just grateful her boy is making good progress.
Julien Sylvester underwent 2.5 hours of surgery at B.C. Children's Hospital. His condition has now been upgraded from “fair” to “stable." The toddler has also been moved out of ICU and is expected to make a full recovery.
“He has two scull fractures. On the one side, the claw did go through to his brain. They’ve done a great job of patching everything up,” says Hagar.
The boy also suffered a puncture wound to his chest and has claw marks down to his front and back.
Julien, his four-year-old sister Iris, grandfather and a friend were walking back to their vehicle after a day at the beach at Kennedy Lake when the cougar snuck up on them and grabbed Julien by the head. The animal also lunged at Iris, but she and the others started making noise to scare the cougar off.
Hagar says she credits her father, his friend and her little daughter for scaring the cougar away and possibly saving Julien’s life.
“My father mentioned how quickly and silently it happened. I think that was what my father was most traumatized by. There was no snapping of twigs, there was nothing…It went from Julien was playing in the sand to looking up and Julien was in cougar’s mouth,” says Hagar.
The main concern now is that the toddler does not develop an infection in his brain where the claw went it. Doctors will be monitoring his condition very closely over the coming days.
In the meantime, conservation officers and dog teams are still scouring the section of Pacific Rim National Park where the attack happened, looking for the cougar.
Searchers backed off overnight, hoping the relative quiet would lure the animal out.
Over thirty conservation officers with hounds bred especially for tracking cougars, park officials and police have been involved in the search for the cougar, which is believed to be a young animal.
“The paw print was approximately ten by nine centimeters. By the impression in the sand, it is a typical cougar we would deal with in the 60 to 80 pound range,” says conservation officer Steve Ackles.
“The family did absolutely the right thing by screaming and yelling, and the cougar disengaged. The fact that the child survived is, I think, because the cougar was not sure about its prey. This is strange prey to it.”
Friends of the family have started a trust fund at CIBC to help with medical costs.
“It is a tough time anyway, so a few bucks from us adds up, and it will make a big difference,” says Alison Wertz, who knows the family.
Officials are urging the public to be careful. A 2-3 kilometer area around Kennedy Lake will remain closed until the cougar is caught.
Trust fund details:
Julien Sylvester/Hagar Trust Fund
CIBC Ucluelet
Donations can be made at any CIBC branch
© Shaw Media Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.