Cougars - of the genuine feline type

[teigyr]

I'm actually siding with the wildlife. Not that I want anyone to be eaten, granted. We're in the animal food chain and we are kind of prey only we think we're not.

Am not advocating cougar attacks.

Am also thinking children would be FAR tastier

[Eden]

I'm not so worried about riding along the roads in suburbia - but riding in the actual woods a bit outside of suburbia..... the number of cougars showing up in the burbs recently makes me think the woods may be getting a bit crowded....

[Trekhawk]

If it was me I would not ride alone. When I lived in Nor Cal lots of the areas we mtb in had signs warning about Cougars. That was enough to scare the bejeepers out of me so I never went out in the bush alone. I think it is probably wise to err on the side of caution.

[Starfish]

I also recently heard a radio interview with another cyclist charged by a cougar. He was mountain biking, and there was one way in and out of the area he was headed. He heard some noises behind him, and there was a cougar on the trail between him and his exit route. He held his bike over his head, made himself look large, etc. Eventually the cougar went back into the woods.

But, then he had to get out. He waited a long time, then cautiously went back the way he had come. Again, he heard noises, and the cougar charged back out at him from off the trail. He stayed on his biked and yelled at it, and it ran away.

But, he said it was terrifying. Also, it obviously had hung around and was willing to at least do another half-hearted run at him.

We have a lot of cougars in my area, and it is always on my mind. Most people I know who mountain bike and hike go armed. Depending where I'm headed on my road bike, so do I.

[Biciclista]

well, if you have to shoot, aim for the sky. There are just not that many cougars

[salsabike]

[QUOTE=Biciclista;465796]well, if you have to shoot, aim for the sky. There are just not that many cougars [/QUO

I couldn't agree more. And we're pushing them out of their habitats by developing those areas.

[newfsmith]

Shoot before you have to, and you can aim for the sky, hoping to scare them away. Wait until you "have to" and you have to shoot to kill. Nothing is worse than wounding wildlife.

[Drtgirl]

Nope, you're not the only one- I'm always a little anxious when I ride alone in the woods. I spend a lot of time riding Tiger Mtn and Grand Ridge and figure that I'll eventually run into some wildlife. However, on those trails I'm more worried about coming across some sketchy guy than cougars or bears.

[SlowButSteady]

I, too, have those nervous thoughts...often cycling alone on remote country roads. And I don't live in lion country. I suspect it's because I am a member of the advocacy group Eastern Cougar Foundation and track lion sightings outside of what is considered normal lion range.

But this just goes to show how vulnerable we really can be--a 19 year old woman hiking alone in a national park was killed by two coyotes:

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=298321&sc=79