Posted on 07/14/2006 6:03:54 AM PDT by Marius3188
Late last Thursday, one Lac la Hache resident had the fright of his life when he came face to face with a 175 lb., male cougar, said Conservation Officer Darcy MacPhee.
“Thursday night at 11 p.m., I received a call at home and a gentleman from Timothy Lake Road area called to advise me that he had just shot a cougar in self -defense,” MacPhee said.
“I attended the next morning and located a cougar approximately 30 metres from his house.”
The fatal encounter began earlier in the day when the man had been cutting down dead pine and noticed that his animals were acting strangely.
“He lives in a rural area, so he’s familiar with his animals letting him know that something’s around.”
MacPhee explained that later that day the man went to retrieve a power-saw he had left behind after cutting down the last tree of the day.
It was just before dark and he was a bit nervous because of his animals’ behaviour, so he took a firearm with him.
“He just walked a short distance from his house, saw the cougar and said it was ‘loping towards him’.”
He waited until it was very close and fired one shot and killed it.
MacPhee said the man described the event as an “almost surreal experience.”
“When I did investigate it, I looked at the distances involved, where he shot from and where the cougar was and all aspects of his story appeared very credible.”
The Wildlife Act allows everyone to protect themselves and their property from dangerous wildlife, but they are required to report any incidents.
Every year in B.C. people are injured by bears and cougars, but attacks are rare.
Cougars are very common in the Cariboo and it’s not unusual to have them cross people’s property.
MacPhee said the general advice on cougars is that they attack from behind, so if a person encounters one they should stand their ground, make themselves as big as possible, put their hands over their heads and yell.
“They are curious and they’re at the top of the food chain,” he said. “There are few animals they fear, including humans."
> If I were standing in his shoes, I would have done the exact same thing, no hesitation.
Fair enough, to each his own. Wild animals are unpredicatable for sure. If I were in his shoes I would not have shot the cougar: would instead have started the power-saw that he went to retrieve (as he was cutting down trees, I assume it was a chainsaw).
The saw makes plenty of noise, enough to scare the crap out of any animal. And dangerous enough to be lethal.
"He waited until it was very close and fired one shot and killed it. "
Neat.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cougar is a woman over forty who is sexually attracted to younger men, often times in their early twenties. These women are referred to as cougars because they are thought to stalk their younger male prey like predators. The term originated in Western Canada, but has since spread to the United States. These women are generally very aware sexually, are attractive, look younger than their chronological age and prefer the pace they believe a younger man can give them in carnal activities.
The expression has been mentioned on The View, The Late Show with David Letterman and used in commercials for the Jerry Hall reality series Kept.
Cougars have been profiled in Bust magazine.
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