7-year-old boy mauled by 2 cougars in Canada

LAKE COWICHAN, Canada (WPVI) -- A seven-year-old boy is in serious condition after at least two cougars mauled him near Lake Cowichan in Canada.

"The family was inside the house and the child was outside somewhere and attacked somewhere by the house," said Sgt. Scott Norris of the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service.

Conservation officers say the child was mauled on Friday afternoon, suffering injuries to his head, neck and arms.

The child is just seven years old.

The mayor says the boy was air lifted to hospital.

"I was talking to a young girl who was looking after him. He didn't live in that area, i don't think. He was just visiting. And she was the one who told me it was basically his arm was chewed and he'd be okay," said Mayor Rod Peters.

Neighbors say they're aware cougars are in the area, but encounters like this are shocking.

"It's very horrible to hear that a child attacked like that," said neighbor Jeff Bain. "We hadn't heard any warnings from our dogs in the past few days so it's kind of a surprise."

Conservation officers scoured the area for any traces of the big cats.

They didn't have to look far: two cougars were still on the property and were euthanized.

"From the first look, they're quite thin," said Norris. "They're young cats, not looking like they're doing very well."

Norris said cats that are not very well-fed are the ones who are going to take chances and do things they shouldn't necessarily be doing.

Officers swept the area with their hounds in case there was a third animal, which they never found.