Cougar tracker survives attack

BELLA COOLA, B.C. - Clarence Hall figured he was hunting the cougar. Instead he became the prey.

Hall, 74, a licensed cougar tracker with 34 years of experience, was checking a backyard where one of the big cats had killed a dog in this coastal town about 270 miles northwest of Vancouver when he was jumped from behind.

"The cougar came in over my head with her claws and she pulled me right backwards onto the ground and immediately began munching on the left side of my neck," Hall said yesterday from his hospital bed.

Hall managed to hold the jaws open until the homeowner who had called him shot and killed the cougar.