A Cougar Tale BC Canada (picture heavy)

dboles

dboles

Joined
Mar 6, 2007
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Raining real hard.I fished upstream for some distance before calling it quits.I was getting very wet and cold and not a little bit upset at not having caught a fish.
Decided to head back along the river bluff where the timber meets the river shore to search for shed antlers.As I walked around the corner of a steep rocky bluff I heard a noise.Turned around in time to see my dog Libby stopping and turning and then a cougar hot on her heels.Oh man here it goes dog is going to get killed by that cat.The only protection I had with me is a longer DPKnives, Damascus blade in the pack.Shugged out of the pack to get the knife.
In the meantime the pair-predator and prey moved off.Libby running a short distance,turning to face the charging cat.Then dodging and weaving to keep out of harms way believe me when I tell you she was busy.By this time I realized wasnt going to need the knife so pulled the camera out,turned it on.Dog and cat had moved off.Libby doing her best at evasion ,the cat its best at securing groceries!
The pair some distance off
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After 6-7 unsuccessful attempts the cougar headed for the timber with the dog hot on its heels.Im here to tell you that they can really move.They disappeared into the timber.Libby came back to me no more than a minute later.I knew then that the cougar had treed
When I went down that way and found the fresh tracks,looked up and there it was not very high up a hemlock
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I hung around for a bit trying to get a decent photo,which I didnt took around 50
.
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Last I saw of it
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Pretty cool encounter Im thinking,too bad the camera wasnt working-I somehow had turned off the zoom and a poor light setting was on.All operator owner faults
Im thinking the dog had my back.
Libby -taken last week
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My DPKnives blade
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Thanks for looking
Dan'l
 
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wow cool not very often do u get to see a cougar up close. me and my cuz had one stock us on a drunk walk home late at night in pinatin bc. caught a few glimpses of it!
 
Only been around them a few times. A couple of times with my grandfather and his hounds when I was little. The hounds would tree em' and then we would rock him out and tree em' again. Also saw one when I lived in Montana. He was a young one, laying along a dirt rode waiting for some joggers to come by. My friend and I made it to him before the joggers and the truck scared him away. Glad your dog made it ok.
 
You and your dog are incredibly fortune to survive this attack - i'd rank it as a near miss. You came inches away from never seeing your dog again wow! I'd use this near miss as a real wake up call and be re-assessesing my survival tactics and tools. A knife, even a big knife should be a last ditch tactic and not a primary. If a cat gets within a couple arms reach then the odds are significantly in favor of the better equipped, stronger, & better trained opposing force vis a' vis "the cat!". In the wilderness the cat is the king of the predators! And at close proximity it has no equal. In Disney movies you see the manand his dog facing down a cat with a walking stick and knife face to face with the cat giving up. In reality that rarely happens.
 
I hope you bought your dog a steak dinner when you got home. That,s a good friend you got there!
 
wow. that is crazy. I would have probably needed new draws and some more bullets in my pistol. I'm glad your dog led him away from you and managed to make it back alive and in one piece. very cool encounter.
 
great story- thanks for posting

it's usually nice w/ cats- dog chases they run and tree; w/ bears- dog chases for short distance, bear turns on dog, dog runs back (and past) their human companion leaving said human to deal w/ bear :D
 
Quirt said:
You and your dog are incredibly fortune to survive this attack - i'd rank it as a near miss. You came inches away from never seeing your dog again wow! I'd use this near miss as a real wake up call and be re-assessesing my survival tactics and tools. A knife, even a big knife should be a last ditch tactic and not a primary. If a cat gets within a couple arms reach then the odds are significantly in favor of the better equipped, stronger, & better trained opposing force vis a' vis "the cat!". In the wilderness the cat is the king of the predators! And at close proximity it has no equal. In Disney movies you see the manand his dog facing down a cat with a walking stick and knife face to face with the cat giving up. In reality that rarely happens.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about that... there're plenty of documented accounts of people driving cougars away with rocks and sticks when someone nearby them is attacked, or even killing the cat with just a pocket knife. There was a story of a father driving away/killing, (can't remember which,) a cougar with his Caly 3.5 that was widely circulated on knife and gun forums just a few months ago. Although obviously a gun would be better, I would still feel pretty safe with a large Bowie knife and a dog.
 
A predator wants an easy meal as much as we do. A young or weak or inexperienced predator is less likely to press his luck if the meal shows too much vitality. Unless the predator is seriously injured or sick and hungry, another meal, another day will always be the better way.

Once the predator tastes blood, sees fear, or knows for a fact he has the prey down for the count, then he will go for the kill despite formal attempts to escape him. The cougar in this thread had no such command of the situation.
 
Love your dog! Too bad you cant carry a pistol in BC. It really raises the comfort level to have one around.
 
Glad you made it out ok! Can I ask how close you were when you took the pictures of the cat in the tree? Looks close. And after being stalked, I'm not sure I'd ve done that. I wonder if the bear spray works against cats too?
 
You got my heart racing just reading this post.

Glad you and your dog are safe and secure.
 
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