John got a new nickname, John Cougar Mellencamp. Well, maybe just John Cougar. Last week Wayne and John went out hiking. While traveling through a logging slash, they had a scary cougar encounter.Wayne was in front, John's dog Bro was in the middle, and John was bringing up the rear. John has tremendous hearing. Even though the cougar ran almost silently through the brush, John turned in time to see it bearing down on them. He yelled, waved his walking stick, and grabbed Bro by the neck. The cougar probably though Bro looked like a tasty morsel.
Just before reaching the guys, the cougar veered off into the bush. Later they looked over their shoulders, and the hungry looking cougar was still there on a stump watching intently.
The extreme cougar encounter left all three a bit shaken. Wayne and I plan to ride our quads on this same trail later in the summer after the snow melts in the high country. John's dad Ed has a strange sense of humour don't you think? -- Margy
That would be hair raising. My dad and I had a bear approach us on a Vancouver Island beach several years back. I don't think it saw us, but got within about 20 feet before we started hollering to scare it off.
ReplyDeleteI've seen them in the distance, which works fine for me! Great photo op though! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I love that last shot of him!
ReplyDeleteI have a black spider spider, please come and see. Have a great weekend.
Eli - The cougar got just about that close. Fortunately it went the other way. - Margy
ReplyDeleteYou just don't know how big these cats are until you see one!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful cat! And I love the cartoon, too.
ReplyDeleteThe dog was probably the intended meal, and a cougar would have to be pretty hungry, say in mid-winter, to dare to attack a wheeled vehicle.
It's odd that the dog didn't smell the cougar before John heard him, though. How old is the dog?
Susannah - Bro is about 15 now, pretty old for a lab, but still going pretty strong. He loves to get out in the bush with John. Maybe the wind was in the other direction, which would account for the lack of noise and Bro not picking up the scent. His a known howler, especially for bears. - Margy
ReplyDeleteBears often are highly stinky. Cats, including cougars, work on keeping themselves clean so as not to spook their prey. I can see why an older dog, with the wind blowing the wrong way, would miss the cougar until it was too late. Good thing John's ears are sharp!
ReplyDeleteNice shot of that cougar. I seen my first one a couple summers ago. We have lots of them here, but I sure don't see many of them. I wonder how many times they've watched me tie loads down in the bush at night. Probably lots. I do like the cartoon, it's a good one.
ReplyDeleteLove the cartoon, Margy, but a very scary adventure for all, especially with Bro not as young as he used to be.
ReplyDeleteK
To me this is all very exotic! We don't have cougars, bears, dangerous spiders or anything! The most we have is an adder which can make you quite ill, but usually not fatal. That big cat looks beautiful and bears look cuddly, but I wouldn't like to come face to face with either! Xxx
ReplyDeleteMany times, if the wind is blowing in the opposite direction, Lucky will miss the scent of an animal that is right there. I find I have to be the one with the awareness even more now that his eyesight is going.
ReplyDeleteI used to ride through the back country on horseback, and came upon many sightings of cougar. Horses always seem to know and would transfer their awareness to me about the predator. Most times they were visible, but sometimes not...and that's spooky!
So glad they were all alright! xx
I'd be shaking in my boots if I saw a cougar up close. Great shot by the way!
ReplyDeleteWOW how thrilling! But lucky you to get such a super photo. And I laughed about your comic!
ReplyDeleteFrugal - I'm with you. We probably don't know the half of what is out in the bush. Especially since we don't have a dog unless we are with John and Bro.
ReplyDeleteFran - Actually not having dangerous critters doesn't sound all that bad.
Marion - I've never encountered a cougar on horseback, but bears and buffalo, yes. Horses aren't too crazy about things that could hurt them. That makes them a pretty good early warning system.
Stephanie and Pia - I am amazed that Wayne was able to get a shot. I could have been too scared to lift my camera.
Margy
What a brazen but beautiful cougar! We have run into cougar hiking and hunting here in Oregon and have had one in our front yard. We try to always be alert since we know how quiet they can be. Hopefully this one will have moved on to the high country by the time you go back into that area. This is the time of year that the female cougar sends her juvenile children packing and they are out trying to find their own territory.
ReplyDeleteyikes! what an adventure that is :-( cute cougars though :-)Dropping by from Camera Critters.
ReplyDelete