BC Parks has closed the 9 Mile Point campground until further notice after kayakers overnighting at the popular destination on Sechelt Inlet had a frightening run-in with a cougar that ended with them being ferried back to Sechelt by an RCM SAR crew.
Justine Bugayong of Roberts Creek was one of those kayakers. She was paddling with two friends from Vancouver. She said the campsite, which is part of Mt. Richardson Provincial Park, was busy when they arrived on Saturday but by Sunday night most of the other campers had moved on, leaving Bugayong’s group and three women from Pemberton on a trip with their three sons.
Bugayong said she first spotted the cougar around 8:45 that night.
“I was facing into the woods and I could see the ferns moving, and I thought ‘it’s not windy, so there’s something there,’” she said. “I leaned to have a better view and there was the cougar sitting there staring at us… It was about 10 metres away.”
She knew there were bears in the area and was prepared for that, but it was the first time she’d ever seen a cougar and she wasn’t expecting it.
Bugayong blew an air horn she had with her, and told her friends that they should move away and warn the other group. They were yelling and talking loudly as they made their way to the other site, where the other kayakers helped them shift their camp so both groups were close to each other. Both groups also kept up the noise, trying to make sure the cougar was scared off.
It seemed to have worked, so Bugayong and her friends went about securing their kayaks for the night. “As we were heading back to our site we could hear screaming… When I turned around I saw all six of them standing at the tide-line yelling toward the bush and shaking their paddles.”
Nancy Lee, who’s kayaked in the area several times before and is an experienced wilderness camper, was with the group from Pemberton. She said they’d started making noise again when one of the boys saw the cougar coming down the beach.
They tried throwing rocks at the animal, but it didn’t budge and at one point seemed to move closer. “Everybody’s making a ton of noise and the thing’s still standing there… It’s not moving,” said Lee.
By now it was dark and all they could see of the big cat was the reflection of its eyes in the beams of their headlamps. Despite the ban, Lee decided to start a fire to try to discourage the big cat.
The group called 911 and were put in touch with the Conservation Officer Service, which Lee said advised them to stay on the beach, take turns keeping watch and arm themselves with knives, if they had them, and large sticks and be prepared to wait it out all night.
Lee said the children were growing frightened and the adults more concerned about what to do; they tried various options to see if they could get a water taxi or someone from the outfitting company that rented Bugayong and her friends their kayaks to come out.
Eventually they decided to call the Coast Guard hoping they could put them in touch with a water taxi or charter. Instead, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre sent a crew from RCM SAR Station 12. “They arrived some time after 1 a.m. [Monday] to take us all back into town,” said Bugayong. “They were amazing!”
Conservation officer Andrew Anaka told Coast Reporter warning signs were posted and the campsite was closed to the public later Monday morning.
Anaka said the cougar’s behaviour, as described by the women, although a bit unusual, would classify as “inquisitive rather than attack behaviour.”
“Cougars are very inquisitive animals,” he said. “They want to figure out what’s prey and what’s not prey, and this animal could have been a bit hungry and a little more tenacious than most. Given a few days it has to move off to find something to eat. We’ll give it some time to move away and we’ll reopen that campsite in a week or so.”
Lee and Bugayong said they heard after returning to Sechelt that there had been a similar incident at the campground a few days earlier. Anaka said nothing was reported to conservation officers at the time, and they’re now looking into it.
Anaka also said they advise people planning to spend time in the outdoors to learn about how bears and cougars behave and have a plan for what to do if you encounter them. He recommends visiting the WildSafe BC website (wildsafebc.com).
“You should have some sort of idea of what you’re going to do if you encounter that animal, because it’s a panic situation at the time. You’re not going to have time to think about it,” he said. “Talk about it in advance – what are we going to do if we encounter a bear or cougar in the wild?”
Anaka’s other advice includes: carry and know how to use bear spray and a sheath-style knife and have them accessible, and keep the RAPP line number (1-877-952-7277) handy so you can report wildlife issues.
You can check the current status of the campsite here: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/mt_richardson/
