Mother Pries Open a Cougar's Jaw to Save Child

“We live on Vancouver Island in a small town, Lake Cowichan, for approximately four years now. My husband is Kevin and we have five of our own kids together, and I also have a stepson. When you live here, you have a lot of privileges because you're in a beautiful forested area, It's not uncommon to see deer, raccoon, bears. Our community is very closed off. We have a safe environment here. Never did I ever think that anything would happen to my kids in my own back yard. The thought never crossed my mind.”

March 29, 2019

“This was an average Friday afternoon. Around 3:40ish. Yeah, and Kevin was working. The children are doing everything they normally do, and so make the popcorn and put the popcorn bowl onto the porch. And Zach, he just felt like he needed to have some time to himself he was headed to his fort. And he loves his fort. He worked very hard at it and I did know that he was in the back yard. I just – doing normal things, the normal things I do every single day. So when I was in my laundry room I heard the sheet metal on the neighbor's fence banging. And I thought, ‘sounds like my child's kicking that metal fence.’ I knew something was wrong I went outside and I could hear this banging. It sounds like he's trying to get something off of him. I ran down the stairs, and I'm calling ‘ZACH! ZACH!,’ and I knew he’s in that area so I just leaped over there.

Turned the corner, it's a parent's worst nightmare.”
“I see this cougar, latched onto my child. Took me a moment to process, what on earth is happening. Your heart just sinks into your stomach. I needed to try and get control of what was physically harming my child. Which was his – the cougar's mouth. In a moment's time I knew that I needed to pray, I knew that ‘God, I need your help.’ I just reached my hands into its mouth and I’m just pulling. Okay. ‘God!’ He's the only one at this point who's going to be able to save my son. I believe in Jesus. I believe in his power, I believe in his strength I know that God is going to save my kid. At about three sentences into my prayer, the cougar just unlatched its mouth off of him and it just slinked away. I scooped him up, I picked him up and I just ran in the house and I said, ‘Get everyone, Get in the house, get in the house!’"

After Chelsea called 911, conservation officers located and euthanized the young cougar that had attacked Zach.

Zach’s injuries were assessed at a nearby hospital.

“He had an MRI but there's no brain damage or no fractures to his skull, and no broken bones. So deep lacerations were all we had and the wounds healed, amen and praise the Lord.

“Well you may have heard of this story, its gone international”

“A mama bear vs cougar”

“A mother in Canada went toe to toe with a cougar”

 “Is being credited with saving her son’s life.”

“When the first news people arrived, I thought, ‘Oh, okay. This hit the news.’ And that's as far as I thought. When it went onto Good Morning America, I was really surprised. The reason I wanted to allow it was so that the right story got out there. We give God 100% credit. It wasn't me who opened its mouth, it was the power of the Holy Spirit that made that animal flee.”

 “Zach today is – I would say he's doing quite well. I know the Lord has really helped heal him emotionally. I tell him that God saved him and I tell him that the Lord intervened. Through this experience that he can see the power of the Holy Spirit working and the importance of calling on God, not just in times of need, but in all times, having a relationship with the Lord.”