'Aggressive' cougar stalking mountain bikers in Squamish 2011, different, difficult, mountain

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'Aggressive' cougar stalking mountain bikers in Squamish
Renee Bernard Aug 07, 2011 18:18:53 PM
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SQUAMISH (NEWS1130) - Mountain bikers heading out on trails near Alice Lake in the Squamish area are being warned about a cougar.

Conservation officer Chris Doyle says an alert was put out because of the cougar's behaviour.

"It encountered three different groups of mountain bikers and on all three occasions it approached those people and was very difficult to scare off, and definitely showed an interest in the bikers."

He's reminding hikers and bikers that it's not a good idea to run away from a cougar. Instead, he recommends facing it to try to scare it off.

"It's always a concern when cougars do approach people, and we have had other incidents recently of a cougar encountering mountain bikers on trails, however three in one day is a significantly more activity," he says.

Doyle is not sure why the cougar is behaving this way, but it could be that it has lost its fear of humans.

A cougar has been spotted by three different groups of mountain bikers near Squamish