For folks the rules are simple – if you see a cougar, don’t approach it, maintain a safe distance and back away slowly – never run.
Black bears, however, play by a different set of rules. And for one Vancouver Island bear caught on camera, there was no messing about, they ran – and fast.
The wild showdown was discovered by Langford resident Karen Grundlingh when she reviewed trail camera footage set up on her four-acre plot of land in a remote area of the South Island.
In the video, a bear can be seen minding its business in front of a blackberry bush, when all of a sudden it makes a run for it, darting down a game trail through the bush.
Seconds later, a cougar appears, chasing at pace.
When Grundlingh watched the footage, she was standing only a few steps away from where the action happened.
“It was pretty intense to see,” she said. “I was looking over my shoulder thinking, ‘Umm, you're gone now, right?’”
The apex predator confrontation has left Sooke-based wildlife group Wild Wise “speechless,” having never seen anything like it before.
“Sometimes, nature shows us moments we never expect,” said the group in a social media post.
According to a Wild Wise volunteer passionate about animal behaviour, despite appearances, the cougar was not in attack mode.
As the big cat can be seen coming to a stop in the bush and not pressing the chase, the volunteer believes the showdown was more of a “territorial protest” rather than a hunt.
Instead, they say the encounter is a classic example of ‘fight or flight’ behaviour – in both animals.
“Both species opting for avoidance rather than confrontation,” said the group’s post. “It’s all about making a point and not risking unnecessary conflict.”
While the rare footage has got wildlife lovers excited, Wild Wise president Mollie Cameron says it’s not uncommon for cougars and bears to cross paths.
“In fact, both wolves and cougars have been previously observed predating on bears, typically younger animals,” she told Goldstream Gazette.
The bear-cougar clash is just one example of what Grundlingh and her husband find on the many trail cams set up across their four-acre plot.
"Tons of bears," cougars, deer and much more have all been caught on camera.
“One time, we caught a (cougar) mom with three juveniles, which was pretty shocking – we didn't know there were that many in the area,” she says. “We’ve also seen owls catching snakes and stuff.”
With their plans to build a home on the plot on hold, Grundlingh and her husband consider the spot their “little piece of paradise,” which they visit often to battle blackberry bushes, bust broom and check their trail cams.
But only during daylight hours – in the three years they’ve owned the property, the couple have never stayed overnight.
"We couldn't tent there for sure,” says Grunlingh. “The amount of cougar and bear activity – there’s no way I’d stay there in a tent.”
