Man Punches Cougar in Face, Deters Attack Near Smithers, BC

A cougar plays with a piece of wool at the Parque de las Leyendas Zoo, in Lima, Peru, on Dec. 9, 2020. (The Canadian Press/AP-Martin Mejia）

A British Columbia man suffered minor injuries after fending off a cougar attack by punching the animal in the face in the province’s northern Interior.

The province’s Conservation Officer Service says in a social media post that the attack happened on Saturday around 11 a.m. near Smithers, B.C., some 1,000 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.