*bringing awareness to all our inner dog circles. This blog is dedicated to both Luna & Rocket for protecting our pack. Praying for a full recovery for Luna Bear, who was injured defending our timely escape from the cat at large. *please note web site disclaimer posted March 2019 under archives. I stand on bringing awareness-not advice into this post. Before I get started on what happened, what it was like and what it is like now, I want to point out how the cat blends into the rock? There are 2 images below. It is like that in most settings. The cougar we encountered did not want to be seen. It was sneaky and in stealth mode once it knew we arrived on the scene, the morning of the attack. Waiting for the right moment to pounce. It was in the middle of our hike, now cut short. The trail we hiked that day is shaped like a figure 8. With an additional trail going right ( West ) in the Jubilee Parkway trails. These two paragraphs barely set the scene of what's wrong with the incident I am describing. In the opening sentences I am all ready showing animal behavior is changing. What's happening to our wildlife? If anything can be a take away in this post-it's that. Wildlife behavior is showing signs of unpredictable change. Which means this was an act of nature. It took an even greater force to get us out safely and alive. Image by Michael Johnston from Pixabay Image by Margit Wallner from Pixabay These images are as close as I can get to show how easily they can camouflage themselves into the scenery. By blending right in. This is probably the most important blog I will ever write about and post, after facing off with a young mountain lion aka cougar, puma, this past week, while on an early morning pack walk. There is a lot of ground to cover on this post and its relevance concerns everyone living on Vancouver Island, the province of BC and neighboring province of Alberta. As well, I repeat making my disclaimer known dating back to March 2019 archives. This article is about awareness & asking many questions to raise awareness. The pack I walk, saved my life & then in turn by making me aware the CAT was now in our presence I had to save theirs as all our paths to exit were crossed. If you have never heard a cougar scream-listen to this video below. This is to make you think its a woman or child to lure you away. One thing I was told about wildlife is they can scream like children or can sound like a woman screaming. It's not just cougars, but coyotes, bobcats, lynx, even squirrels scream etc. All I can suggest is get to know your wildlife online before heading outdoors. Get prepared. I listened first online so I knew what to listen for-even though I was thinking I hope I never encounter such a sound. ACK! This is what it was like to encounter the wildcat. Worst fear realized once the dogs were on the cats trail. The hunter now the hunted. Now I am aware its the cougar screaming I hear the barking and a yelp. As I said to myself. Is that? NO!!!!!! Simple denial kicks in. Right? Really unclear as to what has happened in my mind. Giving an account of what someone might experience in that life/death situation. Denial is quickly smashed. I feared a dog being dragged away and survival skills take over. Flight or fight? In shock but trying to calmly assess and proceed. Scanning, looking-the dogs are never out of sight this long. Even though they were only a few feet away-it took forever to get the vision. Since my body, mind and soul is being flooded with cortisol and adrenaline. It's all happening at lightening speed. I hadn't seen anything yet and my first petography session with my new camera was over in an instant. From the last pic to the sighting was approximately 2 minutes. Then the rustle in the bushes became real so fast. The head of the cougar lifts from behind the moss covered log. What an ugly sight it was staring down this cat it had an angry evil look on its face. Not like the one above-it was mad its attack was exposed while the dogs are positioned one at the head the other at the tail. Our eyes locked. I have the other two dogs at my side as we are at the halfway point of the figure 8 trail in the center of the north eastbound turn of the trail. Nearing the exit, but not there yet. I was told always make sure you give the animal the chance to escape and exit the scene. Only we are all blocked. I can't call the dogs because they would be endangered of being attacked and we would have to double backtrack to get out of the spot we were in. So, I began back stepping my way out towards Rocket, as I slid my phone into my coat pocket and pulled out my bear horn and took it off safety slipped it back in my pocket to pull open my pocket knife. Now that the pack defended us, I was going to defend them. The cat was crawling towards me. I sounded 'NO' and blasted the recall whistle and reached for the bear horn to sound it praying this cat to flee while still continuing to back step us out of this intense scene and moment in time. The cat was free to retreat south, west or east as I was approaching north to our exit and could safely call the dogs to follow. With my eyes still locked on the predator at large as it didn't know what to make of us. In all my previous encounters with wildlife they all exited upon a sudden noise-and clapping of hands with "Git" & "Yeeha" spoken/yelled at them. Not this time. This one displayed no fear of human life whatsoever. It wasn't going anywhere. Nor did it. Which in the end possibly supports it's too sick to hunt anything other than human & pets. I am only speculating here. This can not be confirmed, but shouldn't be denied, either. Now the questions swarm my mind. Why? What is it doing? What's it waiting for? It's not backing off as it moves its way closer towards us. It's not behaving like previous wildlife had in the past. This really intensified everything. I could feel the fear overwhelming me. Fearing for my life and my pack. As I continued to watch the cat, the two defenders and other 2 dogs beside me-I knew I had to stay calm and keep the dogs calm. Any sudden movement the cat would consider us prey. It would be on. If the dogs hadn't alerted me, where the cat was. Its plan to pounce/attack would have been to of easily attacked me from behind as I turned into the exit of the last part of the trail. Totally unaware of the danger I was walking into -only the dogs thwarted the attack. What does Stealth mean? 1 : a cautious, unobtrusive, and secretive way of moving or proceeding intended to avoid detection Exceptional and outstanding dogs preventing an all out assault on the pack as a whole, at the risk & expense of their own lives. It would have been a different outcome all together, had things happened any other way. I doubt I would be here today nor would they, if they didn't intervene on our behalf. They knew what was happening and defended their pack. Both Luna & Rocket together flushed out the cat that was planned to take us all down. It would be an act of God that delivers us out of harms way & back to safety, this stand off and exit took 30 minutes. Before I could secure the dogs in the vehicle and begin to warn others by writing COUGAR 3x in the dirt on the side of the road and call conservation to report our encounter. About 20 minutes before the encounter was made known to me, but even now-seeing Rocket look in the direction of the cougar. He knew and so did Luna. Conservation at the scene. A team of three conservation officers were dispatched to Jubilee to tape off the area, post signage and escort me back to to the location on the main trail where I exited the forested trails. While waiting for the private contractor with two cougar trained dogs who would track, find and destroy this predator afterwards. Here's the scary part-it never moved from the location where our stand off occurred. It was located exactly where I said it was. Waiting for the next opportunity to attack. See-there is something very wrong with this cougar and all the sightings linked below. I say this knowing there is deer in the area, as we encountered deer without incident. They no longer want to hunt their normal prey. I can only say with my own observation and the past few days of intense research something more is going on. I don't say this to alarm or cause fear. This is where awareness comes in. Denial is not going help anyone. People don't even have to step outside their front doors. The attacks are coming to us unprovoked. We are under attack if you can grasp it or not. This is happening everywhere. It's not isolated or rare anymore. With that said and out of the way. My warning is this. Watch some videos on how to safely use and carry bear spray-do not walk at dawn or dusk. Whenever possible do not walk alone. Educate yourself and see what is happening locally and elsewhere. Google is at your finger tips simple searches can educate you quickly so you know what to do and are PREPARED. It's now a matter of life or death. Everyone is being targeted, children, pets, adults, livestock, chickens, goats instead of their deer or bear. Find ways to protect yourself and your pets. Practice at home. So if in event something does happen-you will know how to respond or react in any given situation. www.goldstreamgazette.com/news/spiky-armour-created-to-protect-small-dogs-from-b-c-cougars-coyotes/ The questions that flooded my mind during the ordeal with wildlife encounter lead me to start a google search. I was deeply troubled as to why I couldn't deter this particular cat's behavior. I stumbled across a research paper. It's a 20 page PDF reporting that 100/254 cougars were positive for FIV in 2010 during this study. It covered Montana, Alberta and British Columbia, but not Vancouver Island per-say. . After reading this paper as old as it is-it can explain that a number of the cougars were sick then. Sick cats unable to hunt their preferred habitat plus a rich vegetation that includes land cover due to the techniques used to stalk their prey. They hunt 10 - 500 sq miles. So with all the terrain they can cover why is our backyard now mile 10? What happened to the other 490 miles of territory? What is going on here?
I continue my google search and discover there have been a number of sightings and reports made that cougars are attacking livestock, chickens, goats, dogs, children, adults and reports continued to be made these incidents are rare. Meaning not very often. Really? To summarize-what's it like now? Wildlife is exhibiting bizarre behavior. Whether in the woods or our neighborhoods. Now is the time to prepare and learn what to do be safe in either situation.
Perhaps this will become my niche? Raising people's awareness to save lives, pets, livestock etc. What I do know is the pack I hiked outdoors will no longer be hiked in the woods, not even 10 minutes from my house. I won't put them at risk. Since I don't believe its a rare or isolated incident. It would seem I am at a crossroads again. It might be time to do something new or find new ways to follow my passion. Either way-I am so grateful to my fur pack. They are the best dogs in the world to me, to be touched so deeply by their unconditional love. Therefore ending with my disclaimer- WEBSITE DISCLAIMER Last updated [05/26/2019] INTRODUCTION The information provided by [Making Tracks Dog Hiking] (“we,” “us” or “our”) on [Making Tracks Dog Hiking] (the “Site”) [and our mobile application] is for general informational purposes only. All information on the Site [and our mobile application] is provided in good faith, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information on the Site [or our mobile application]. Under no circumstance shall we have any liability to you for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the site [or our mobile application] or reliance on any information provided on the site [and our mobile application]. Your use of the site [and our mobile application] and your reliance on any information on the site [and our mobile application] is solely at your own risk. PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER Last updated [05/26/2019] INTRODUCTION The information provided by [Making Tracks Dog Hiking] (“we”, “us”, or “our”) on [Making Tracks Dog Hiking] (the “Site”) [and our mobile application coming soon] is for general informational purposes only. All information on the Site [and our mobile application] is provided in good faith, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information on the Site [or our mobile application]. Under no circumstance shall we have any liability to you for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the site [or our mobile application] or reliance on any information provided on the site [and our mobile application]. Your use of the site [and our mobile application] and your reliance on any information on the site [and our mobile application] is solely at your own risk. PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER The Site cannot and does not contain professional advice. The professional information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate professionals ie, Veterinarian, Dr., Lawyer, etc., . We do not provide any kind of professional advice. The use or reliance of any information contained on this site [or our mobile application] is solely at your own risk.
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AuthorHi, my name is Lori and I want to personally welcome you to Making Tracks Dog Hiking Blog. This is where I will begin blogging posts about current adventures in the outback as well as, important topics regarding our furry companion(s), as Making Tracks leaves paw prints all over the web and I hope your heart and mine. Archives
April 2024
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