A popular hiking area in the Kananaskis remains closed after a cougar attacked a little girl who was out walking with her family on the weekend.
Conservation officers say the cat jumped out of the bush and pounced on the six-year-old girl as she walked on a trail at Barrier Lake in Bow Valley Provincial Park on Sunday.
"The whole thing was over in a matter of seconds. It wasn't very long, but in that time she had some minor puncture wounds and some scratches to her head and other parts of her body," said Glenn Naylor, Alberta Parks District Conservation Officer.
The quick actions by the little girl's father likely saved the child's life. He saw what was happening and started yelling at the big cat until it let her go.
The family reported the attack the next day and conservation officers decided they had to destroy the cougar.
"When you have a cougar that's attacking a human being, it's going to do it again," said Naylor, "Once that happens you have a huge problem on your hands and our role is public safety and we can't let that happen."
Cougar hounds from Pincher Creek were brought in to help track the cat.
Officers say the cougar and a female sibling were captured, collared and released in Banff National Park back in June.
The female was euthanized two weeks ago after it attacked a dog and weighed just 48 pounds at the time of her death.
Conservation officers think the pair's mother was likely killed, leaving them to fend for themselves.
They stress that cougar attacks on humans are rare and this was the first in Kananaskis Country.
The cougar was destroyed by conservation officers on Tuesday.
