WASHINGTON – A nine-year-old American girl has survived a highly uncommon cougar assault while camping in the western United States, according to her uncle, who is raising money for her medical bills.

Lily was attacked by a cat while camping with her family in Washington state on Saturday morning, according to her uncle Alex Mantsevich’s GoFundMe page.

His post includes before and after photos of his niece, the latter of which shows her asleep in a hospital bed with cuts and bruises from the mauling clearly visible.

Mantsevich reported, “She was airlifted to the hospital with several different injuries to her upper body/Face.”

He stated in his fund-raising post that the child had had hours of surgery and was still in intensive care.

Only 20 people have been attacked by cougars in Washington state’s wilds since 1924, with two of them dying, according to the state’s environmental protection office.

An representative with the agency told a local TV station that an investigation would be conducted to learn more about the circumstances surrounding this attack.

The body of the cougar, which was slain by someone on the site, will be examined for diseases, according to the official.

Cougars, also known as pumas or mountain lions, can weigh anywhere between 75 and 250 pounds (35 to 115 kilogrammes), according to bigcatrescue.org.