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."
PETA is going to want this guy dead.
"No! Bad kitty!"
"That is what hunting traditionally does."
Yes, they definitely need to be hunted enough to relearn that fear.
Every year in B.C. people are injured by bears and cougars, but attacks are rare.Ummm... so which is it?
Poor Kitty /sarc
Hmmm.. They must mean that people are injured while playing hockey or lacrosse with bears and cougars but are seldom attacked by them.
Good thing this didn't happen in Kalifornia. He'd be facing a fine, or jail time, or both.
I'm sorry but this cougar was not curious, he was hungry. I don't understand why some people will have you believe that "animals" don't like the taste of human flesh.
That cougar that can chase down deer in full stride, tackle a moose and rip an elk's throat out sees us as an easy target when they are hungry and we are alone.
"Humans are at the top of the food chain, at least some of them. I count myself as one of them"
Well, after us, Cougars come first...
> 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.
Sound advice. It's a shame this fellow felt he had to kill the cougar. Generally (like bears and wolves and rattlesnakes) they are more afraid of humans than humans are of them.
Humans are at the top because their brains have allowed them to make weapons, traps and so forth, but if a human is face to face with a large, fast, strong carnivore such as a cougar and the human doesn't have a weapon on hand, I think the human doesn't have much of a chance.
LOL!!!
Richard Simmons would scare the crap out of *any* wild animal: even Mike Tyson might think twice before taking him on...
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