B.C. Woman Chased By Cougar; 1 Animal Dead, Another Still Loose

A cougar that chased a woman along a B.C. trail has been shot and killed, but conservation officers believe a second one could still be on the prowl.

Nadia Van Tankeren was walking along Langford's Galloping Goose trail early Monday morning when she noticed something less than 10 metres ahead of her, according to the Times Colonist.

“My first thought was, ‘That’s a big dog, where’s its owner?’” Van Tankeren told the newspaper. “All of (a) sudden it turned around, it saw me, and it started running right at me.”

She hid in a carport to escape the animal, CTV News reported.

“I could see his eyes,” she told the network. “That's how close I was."

Conservation officers found the cougar using tracking dogs and had "absolutely no choice" but to kill the animal due to its aggressive behaviour, officer Peter Pauwels told CBC News.

But officers are concerned that there is a second animal on the loose after Pauwels received a report that a cyclist riding through Galloping Goose saw two animals together, the Times Colonist reported.

Area residents are advised to keep small animals on leashes and watch little children closely, according to CTV News.