We rarely see cougars as cuddly as the cub some hikers spotted on a recent trip near Powell River.
Francois Carpentier and Jason Vranjkovic were driving back from Emma Lake with friends on Sept. 22 when they spotted an adult cougar and a cub on Mainline Road, around the south side of Goat Lake.
The adult ran away but the cub stayed behind, meowing loudly, Carpentier wrote in a blog post on DuaneBurnett.com.
Check out photos of a baby cougar spotted near Powell River. Story continues below slideshow.
Baby Cougar Near Powell River
The baby cougar approached the hikers before stopping about four feet away. Carpentier described it as being about the size of an adult house cat but more muscular, with bigger eyes, ears and paws.
The cub kept calling out for the adult and Carpentier kept a hunting knife and can of bear spray at the ready in case the big cat came back. He was tempted to pick up and cuddle the cub but soon thought better of it, worried that a parent would mistake a touch for an attack.
The encounter was one of many human-cougar interactions documented in recent months.
A cougar was spotted dragging a deer along a road near Goat Lake on Sept. 15, while earlier this summer a mountain lion was filmed swimming close to a boat in Nootka Sound.