Tough 9-Year-Old Survives Cougar Attack While Camping With Her Family

A tough 9-year-old girl survived a cougar attack while she was camping with her family in the Washington wilderness. Lily Kryzhanivskyy suffered severe injuries to her face and torso and had been in intensive care when she finally woke up after hours of surgery.

Her mother, Yelena Ustimenko, told CNN that Lily is making an "amazing" recovery and has been speaking despite the stitches on her face. Wildlife department head, Capt. Mike Sprecher, commended Lily for her resiliency and spunk. He also acknowledged the adults that responded quickly when the cougar attack happened.

Lily, who is from Spokane, was playing hide-and-seek with some of her friends at the family camping on the morning of Saturday, May 28. The attack happened around 11 a.m. and the 9-year-old was immediately airlifted to the nearest hospital.

Her aunt, Alex Mantsevich, opened an emergency GoFundMe detailing parts of what happened to the tough youngster. The fundraiser has since raked nearly $93,000 for Lily's hospitalization.

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Awake from Her Coma, Cougar Negative for Rabies

In the early morning of Monday, May 30, Lily woke up from her coma and could clearly recall what happened to her. Mantsevich said that she could also speak normally and move her arms and legs.

The girl was also chatty with her mom and dad, which they saw as a good sign. However, the family is still hoping that Lily will make a "full recovery without any side effects," per Daily Mail. 

The Washington Fish and Wildlife said that Lily could not do anything differently but she is fortunate to have survived the cougar attack. The agency has taken samples from the animal, which was killed on the scene by some of the campers who had firearms. The cougar was not positive for rabies.

However, the agency will still investigate what got the animal agitated. Records show that there have only been 20 cougar attacks in the camp site's history with the deadliest incident dating back to 1924. The next deadly attack took place in 2018.

Campers and hikers are always advised to be aware of the cougars. The animal experts said these animals do not usually care for the humans around their habitat but there have been close encounters before.

"He was so beautiful!"

Meanwhile, Lily apparently told her aunt that the cougar was such a beautiful animal that was mean to her. Campers who rescued Lily think she may have fallen down and broken her leg thus she could not run away from the animal.

The campers heard Lily scream and headed in her direction. Aleksey Osipenko told KPVI that he saw for himself how the cougar grabbed Lily by the head and dragged her to the ground.

Osipenko said that Lily was still very conscious and talking to him when he got hold of her. She kept saying to the stranger that she loves her family. The rest of the rescuers had their first-aid kit and tried to help the child until the helicopter arrived.

Mantsevich said that Lily has spoken to the officers and asked for keepsakes from the cougar. She has also told the nurse she wants her bloodied clothes and shoes back.

"She's not thinking like a child. She's asking for memories and stuff to keep," the aunt said.

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