Olympic National Park reopens two trails after cougar attack, but others remain closed

Olympic National Park has reopened Switchback and Sunrise Ridge trails, after they were closed following a cougar attack on an 8-year-old child.

The July 29 attack left the child with minor injuries because the child’s mother was able to scare the cat away. Park officials evacuated the remaining campers in the Lake Angeles area, and access to the lake, Heather Park Loop and surrounding trails was restricted.

Lake Angeles is about 15 miles south of Port Angeles, in the northernmost part of the park.

While Switchback and Sunrise Ridge trails have reopened, Lake Angeles and Heather Park remain closed to the public.

The park has not located the cougar yet, and remaining trails will likely remain closed for another 11 days, said Amos Almy, an Olympic National Park public information officer. The area is currently monitored by game and manual cameras that aim to track the cougar. Because the species is naturally territorial, Almy said there is reason to believe it may be the only one in the area.

If the cougar is located, rangers will try to use hound dogs to chase it up a tree, and they will then euthanize it. Park officials plan to conduct a necropsy to help determine what motivated the cougar to attack.