Simon Impey, 5, seen here in hospital with his head wounds, is recovering at home after being attacked by a cougar. (CBC)A mother from Rossland, B.C., is still shaken after saving her five-year-old son from a cougar attack in Washington state last Wednesday.

Dawn Manning told CBC News on Sunday the attack happened during a family hike on a mountain trail in Colville National Forest.

Manning said her husband and seven-year-old daughter were walking about 50 metres ahead while she and her son, Simon Impey, trailed behind.

"We were eating a lot of huckleberries, we were crouched down low, and I saw my son stumble. And when I looked over, this cougar had my son's head in his mouth," Manning said.

Manning said she can't remember clearly what happened next.

"I do know the cougar dragged him by the head. I was screaming, my husband thought I had been stung by something. He came back to see me swinging at something repeatedly," she said.

"I thought I hit the cat three or four times, but [my husband] said it looked more like a hockey fight."

Manning said she believes the big cat was startled by the blows.

'When I looked over, this cougar had my son's head in his mouth.'—Dawn Manning

"Once the cat let go of Simon, we grabbed him. There was lots of blood and we put a hoodie over his head and my husband then carried him down the trail," she said.

"We were two hours into our hike, and we knew we had a long way to go to get to our car, and not knowing whether that cat was going to continue to stalk us made for a very tense situation."

Manning said the family stayed close together and made lots of noise in the hopes of keeping the cougar away.

"And Simon never yelled, he never even cried. His demeanour has just been amazing."

'He's my hero,' says mother

Once the family made it to the car, they drove as quickly as possible to the border, where a police escort ensured they made it safely to the hospital in Trail, B.C.

Simon was treated in hospital for head wounds but has since been released and is expected to make a full recovery.

Manning said officials in Washington state have been unable to find the cougar, but they did say at the time the cat would be destroyed if it were found.

Manning said she's still in disbelief at what happened.

"These are things, obviously, that other people just read about, including ourselves, and no, it just didn't seem real."

But through it all, Manning said, Simon was a real trooper. "He's my hero," she said.