Local News
Cougar sightings prompt trail closure in BC’s Garibaldi Park
BC Parks has temporarily shut down a popular trail in Garibaldi Park after a pair of cougar sightings in the last few days.
The sightings occurred on Rubble Creek trail, and two hikers tell 1130 News Radio they were stalked by the animals.
BC Parks says a detour is in place on the trail until next Tuesday.
Ashley Thompson, one of the two hikers, was by herself on the trail when she heard another solo hiker screaming.
“I was by myself, but there was another solo hiker a little bit further down the trail, and I heard him screaming, and I could see through the trees that he had his bear spray out,” she said in an interview with 1130 NewsRadio.
When she got closer, she saw the cougars.
“There were two large animals just slinking, scurrying at a rapid pace towards us,” she said.
“Both of us, full-grown adults, screaming at the top of our lungs and throwing rocks at their faces. They were still running towards us up to a distance of about eight feet.”
They managed to keep the cougars at bay for enough time to hike back down the trail.
Thompson says it was a harrowing encounter.
“I was pretty convinced that we were not going to be making it out of there unharmed, the rate, the speed that they were coming towards us,” she said.
Another cougar sighting in Garibaldi Park
In a separate incident a day prior, another group of hikers in Garibaldi Park also saw a cougar.
They recorded their encounter on video and shared it on TikTok.
“We were about like two kilometers from the car, so we were actually pretty close to finishing the hike,” said Margaux Cohen.
“I got really spooked, because I realized that the cougar was actually right in front of me, maybe three feet away.”
She and her hiking partner Max took their bear spray out and screamed at the animal.
“But [the cougar] did not move for an entire hour, he was just set on staying so we could not pass, and we did not want to risk anything,” Cohen said.
Cohen was able to call her friend, a park ranger, who then contacted the on-duty rangers.
Her friend told Cohen that they should maintain a distance between them and the cougar and make loud noises.
The cougars appeared to have left the trail by the time conservation officers arrived.
“Max and I spend a lot of time in Garibaldi,” Cohen said, “but that is pretty scary, to be honest.”
With files from Raynaldo Suarez and Maria Vinca.
