There was a predatory attack just last week near whistler, bc.
"UPDATE: Cougar attack in BC was predatory, COS confirms

(UPDATE: Jan. 26 @ 12:45 pm): The COS has now determined that the cougar attack on a man north of Whistler was predatory.

The cougar was a young, emaciated male, conservation officers explained.

"While such attacks are rare, a highly motivated cougar desperate for food is more likely to attack a human," the COS added.

"The COS would like to emphasize that the victim took the right steps in the event of such an encounter and fought back against the cougar, which likely saved his life."

<who> Photo credit: COS </who> Cougar prints at the scene of the attack.
Photo credit: COS
Cougar prints at the scene of the attack.

COS staff remain on site at the man's property and will "continue to monitor the situation" and guarantee public safety.

The service added: "[Officers] believe the offending cougar was the one put down yesterday and the public is not at risk. The public is urged to be prepared in case of any wildlife encounters.

"If you are confronted by a cougar, make yourself look as large as possible and keep the cougar in front of you at all times. Never run or turn your back on a cougar, as the sudden movement may provoke an attack. If you are attacked, fight back."

(Original story: Jan. 26 @ 6:15 am): A man is in hospital with serious injuries after being mauled by a cougar on Monday afternoon.

It happened near the man’s property in the Soo Valley, to the north of Whistler, at about 3:30 pm.

The 69-year-old “was mauled by a cougar and suffered major injuries to his face and hand,” the Conservation Officer Service (COS) said.

<who> Photo credit: 123RF </who> A file image showing a cougar.
Photo credit: 123RF
A file image showing a cougar.

He was taken to hospital in an ambulance and is now thought to be in a stable condition.

Whistler RCMP later killed the cougar.

The COS said it does not believe there is a risk to the public."

Every cougar killed in BC is required to be inspected, measured and sampled by a Compulsory Inspector. This is the requirement for cats that are harvested by sportsmen and those taken by various law enforcement agencies. In my capacity as a Wildlife Specialist for the the Livestock Protection Program and as the Compulsory Inspector for the lower Fraser Valley I get to see many if not most of the cougars killed in a significant part of British Columbia. Every year there are several cougars killed within housing subdivisions between Hope and West Vancouver and even more are taken due to depredation on livestock on the more or less 5 to 20 acre parcels in the lesser populated lowlands of the Fraser River Valley. In other words there is no real shortage of cougars living in and adjacent to a population of 2.7 million persons.

Every year I have hunters bring in cougars for inspection and tell me they were being stalked or charged by the cougar they harvested. On the other hand the big cats seem to harvest almost nil hunters or other human residents. The evidence is that the big cats roam the yards at night in much of the Lower Mainland with very long periods between human/cougar conflicts that result in human injury. In fact I can not remember an incident of cougar depredation on a human in the lower Fraser Valley. They will eat your dog or cat and they can subsist on skunks and raccoons in the city but humans seem to be off the menu for most healthy cougars. However, every once in a great while a cat will for some reason get hungry enough to try to sample long pig or have some excuse to injure or kill a human. There have been a number of instances elsewhere where people riding bicycles were attacked by cougars which suggests to me that cougars might in those cases be triggered by the thought of fleeing prey.