'It was just planted on the log': Cougar encounter caught on camera in Campbell River, B.C.
CTV
A Vancouver Island man has caught a rare cougar encounter on video.
Mike Anderson, 38, was walking his dog in the Beaver Lodge Lands, a sprawling network of forested trails southwest of the city, around 6:30 a.m.
Anderson said he walks Sage, his German shorthaired pointer, through the trails twice a day. But Tuesday was the first time he's seen a big cat in that area.
"It was just planted on the log, trying to blend in," Anderson told CTV News. "I've walked past that log numerous times and it just caught my eye that something was different."
In the short video of the encounter captured on Anderson's cellphone, the cougar is perched on the log, staring directly at the man and his dog, seemingly ready to pounce.
"I just backed away," Anderson said. "It just stayed on the log until I couldn’t see it anymore."
Anderson, a hobbyist wildlife photographer, said Sage didn't even seem to notice the cat. "She just kind of looked at me funny because I was talking in loud voice," he said.
The Campbell River man says he won't be caught without a proper camera in the area again.
"That's my one regret," he said of the encounter. "It was a cool experience and I'm glad it happened. They're in there all the time it's just a matter of when we see them or not."
