An eight-year-old girl was camping with her family at Olympic National Park in Port Angeles, Washington, over the weekend when she was attacked by a cougar. The incident occurred at Lake Angeles around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. The girl's mother screamed at the cougar, causing it to flee the area. Park staff quickly responded and treated the girl for minor injuries before transporting her to a hospital for further evaluation. In response to the attack, the Lake Angeles area and several nearby trails were temporarily closed to the public.

Olympic National Park has extensive protocols in place for wildlife observations, interactions, and attacks, including the lethal removal of cougars. Authorities dispatched park law enforcement and wildlife personnel specializing in cougar tracking to search for the animal. If found, the cougar will be euthanized and removed from the park for a necropsy, which may provide clues as to why the attack occurred. While cougars are rarely seen and attacks on humans are rare, precautions are advised when visiting the park.

Visitors to Olympic National Park are urged not to hike or jog alone. Children should be kept within sight, and pets should be left at home. If a cougar is encountered, it is recommended not to run, as this may trigger the animal's attack instinct. Instead, people should group together, appear as large as possible, keep their eyes on the animal, and make lots of noise and shout loudly.

The cougar attack on the eight-year-old girl is a rare occurrence in Olympic National Park, where cougars are the largest members of the cat family found in Washington. Adult males can weigh an average of 140 pounds, while adult females rarely weigh more than 110 pounds. Cougars are most active from dusk until dawn.

This incident adds to a series of recent violent encounters between wildlife and visitors in national parks. Just this month, a Minnesota woman suffered significant injuries in an attack by an unidentified animal at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. In Yellowstone National Park, a bison gored a woman, causing severe injuries to her chest and abdomen. Additionally, a Kansas woman was fatally attacked by a grizzly bear while hiking a trail in Montana's Yellowstone National Park. These incidents serve as a reminder of the potential dangers when interacting with wildlife in national parks.