Story by Tommy Wang, Vista Radio
A mushroom picker on the Sunshine Coast is lucky to be alive after a close encounter with a cougar.
The incident happened last Friday (Oct 5th) night around Dakota Ridge.
“The lady is in her early to mid 40, she was out mushroom picking by herself when a cougar approached her and showed some aggressive behaviours towards her,” said Dean Miller, a local Conservation Officer on the Sunshine Coast.
“She took all the appropriate maneuvers to defend her self, but the cat still approached her. She ended up hitting it with a cloud of bear spray, and the cat still pursued and followed her but it wasn’t as aggressive.”
The cougar tried to attack about five times.
The lady managed to make herself look big and threw objects at the cougar and eventually made it back to her car.
Miller said she seemed very educated on what to do during these conflicts and ultimately that likely saved her life.
