Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 09/28/2010 8:19:22 PM PDT by Immerito
On August 19, 1996, 36-year-old Cindy Parolin and three of her children were riding horses in the Similkameen backcountry, 30 miles northwest of Princeton, British Columbia. Like their mother, 6-year-old Steven, 11-year-old Melissa and 13-year-old David felt a mixture of wonder and excitement as they traveled through the vast wilderness. The four were headed to a cabin to join Parolin's husband and other son for a camping vacation.
As the family rode along, the horses grew increasingly nervous. The cause became starkly clear when a cougar suddenly launched itself from the undergrowth at Steven. The animal missed its mark, landing on the horse just in front of the boy's saddle. The great cat scrambled to hold onto the horse's neck but lost its grip and fell to the ground.
Undaunted, the snarling cougar leapt again and attempted to pull Steven from the saddle. This time it got away with only a sock and shoe, but the contortions of the spooked horse caused the boy to fall to the ground. The cat was on the youngster in an instant, wrapping the struggling child in a clawed death-grip.
Parolin watched the unfolding scene in horror as the cat bared its fangs and then bit into the boy's skull. A knowledgeable outdoorswoman and avid hunter, she knew that her son would be dead in a matter of seconds -- his neck broken, skull crushed or artery lacerated in the lion's terrible jaws. If only she had her rifle...but hunting season was weeks away, and Canadian firearms laws made off-season carry all but impossible. She had to act quickly.
Screeching a primal scream, the desperate mother leapt from her mount and rushed to Steven's aid.
(Excerpt) Read more at outdoorlife.com ...
dang.
I saw “killer cougars” and then I scanned the story and saw “6-year-old Steven, 11-year-old Melissa and 13-year-old David”
and I got the WRONG idea.
;p
Wow, truly incredible...And WTH is up with Canada??? So much of the place is a primeval wilderness, and yet its illegal to be armed outside hunting season. Darn liberal sap-suckers.
She fought a cougar for an hour?
Our governments don’t care about the people. They are more interested in making themselves personally wealthy and powerful.
Over an hour. She was, apparently, very physically fit and also a karate student. Not to mention, she was a mother acting on both adrenaline and maternal instincts.
England got rid of it’s predators many centuries ago.
I live in Northeast Washington. Grizzy Bears and cougars. I’m much more concerned about cougars. Especially since the libs in the apartments of downtown Seattle, people who’ve never seen wildlife except a squirrel in the park, voted to outlaw hunting cougars with hounds.
At least we can still arm ourselves.
Canada should be ashamed that people in the outdoors can’t protect themselves.
What a great Mother. We see so many stories of Mothers starving their children or killing them that we need to be reminded that the vast number of Mothers would give their lives for their children.
Agreed. I was quite surprised that this story wasn’t already on Free Republic.
PING!
We got grizzlies in Washington? I knew about the black bears, but I didn’t know about grizzlies. I haven’t seen a cougar, but I have seen fresh tracks while biking near Carnation.
And they introduced new ones!
*Note to self: Carry gun while hiking or skiing*
Incredibly brave and outstanding woman!
The author missed three attacks here in California over the last 10 years or so. A single, older female bird watcher was killed, partially eaten and partially cached by a lion in the Cuyamacas east of San Diego. The lion was killed when it returned to the cache. An older couple was attacked in the same area. The woman beat the lion off the man with a branch and ultimately a ballpoint pen, with which she stabbed the lion in the eye. In northern California a female bicyclist was attacked and lived only because another bicyclist won a tug of war with the cat. The bicyclist had hold pf the victim’s feet. Her head was in the jaws of the lion. I think there have been more attacks here recently, but those are the ones that come to mind. California went many decades without a lion attack. All of those I described came after the voters passed an intiative which banned lion hunting. Incidentally, the endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep is also not faring well from the increase in the lion population.
Yeah, my thoughts too. An hour? Jeez she really has some guts. And stamina!
Good reason to carry a bowie knife at least.
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