“Amazing, unbelievable, a dream come true.”
That’s how Ryan Kreutzenstein describes a close encounter with a family of cougars he and his girlfriend experienced on Wednesday.
The pair were on their way back from a fly fishing trip near Nitnat River, close to Lake Cowichan, around 10:30 at night when it happened.
The couple saw three small figures run out of the darkness and into a nearby ditch. Thinking they were coyotes, they slowed down.
It turned out to be a trio of cougar cubs.
“We could barely see their eyes in the ditch, so we just stopped and shut the vehicle off. And a couple minutes later, they came and they were interested in the headlights, so they came to the passenger side headlight, right in front of it,” Kreutzenstein said.
“And then we heard mom whistle like a bird, and they went running back into the bush.”
The pair stayed in the car with the engine off for another five minutes. Then they got a second look at the family, as the mother and three cubs walked back onto the road.
Kreutzenstein said the four animals proceeded to walk within two feet of the driver’s side door of the vehicle.
“We didn’t know if we should start the vehicle and scare it or take the opportunity and just let it be and let it walk by, and I let my girlfriend make the call.
“She was brave enough to just let it walk by, she didn’t even move, she didn’t even turn her head to look at it.”
Kreutzenstein, an electrician, said he and his girlfriend have been living in an RV nearby and are enjoying their chance to explore nature and see wildlife.
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The pair have posted a number of wildlife videos on their YouTube channel.
He said catching the cougar family on tape — even if it was just with an iPhone — was “what we live for,” and said the experience has him thinking of investing in a better camera.
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