A trail in Freund Canyon in the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth was closed recently after reports of encounters between a cougar and mountain bike riders.
At least four times in the past couple of months mountain bikers reported being either chased or stopped by a cougar on the trail that forms an 8-mile loop through Freund Canyon.
The Yakima Herald reports the trail was closed until Saturday, when a local landowner killed the cougar.
Personally, I enjoy spotting wildlife while riding the trails on the fringes of suburbia here in Bellevue. I've had a bobcat cross my path recently, and last year a couple of coyotes raced in a dusky blur across the trail.
But encountering a 100- to 180-pound cougar, especially one that stands its ground, is not something I would relish.
Eyewitness
In reports in the Seattle Times, two mountain bikers report being chased by the cougar. In another harrowing tale:
Dan Jones, of Olympia, was biking on the trail earlier this summer with his fiancée, Katie Halmos, when the cougar appeared. They had ridden about a mile when the cougar leapt out at Halmos. Jones responded by putting his bike between Halmos and the cougar.
“After about four minutes of the scariest moment of my life, I thought I better try something else,” he said.
So he walked toward the animal to see if it would back down. Instead, it moved toward him, hissing, showing its teeth and swinging its paws.
Halmos grabbed a stick of wood and hit the cat's shoulders, causing it to back away.
“That was the game changer,” said Jones. “It still came at us, but we had more distance and it slithered off into the woods.”
These encounters aren't to be taken lightly. In 2004, Mark Reynolds was attacked and killed by a cougar while riding his mountain bike at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Orange County. A woman was attacked there the same day.
If confronted…
Encounters between mountain bikers and cougars are sure to happen in Washington, where the cougar population is estimated at some 2,000 animals. It's a good idea to know what to do.
Wildlife officials say that if you are confronted by a mountain lion, the worst thing to do is run. That makes you prey in the eyes of the cougar.
What to do:
Face the animal. Talk to it firmly. Shout, wave your arms and throw things at it if it shows aggression. Leave an escape route for the cougar.
What not to do:
Run. Turn your back to the cougar. Crouch.
Recent Comments