Jogger Fights Off Cougar
On Popular NM Hiking Trail

SANTA FE — In a scene that is becoming increasingly familiar, a screaming runner spent 20 minutes fending off a cougar on a heavily used hiking trail near Santa Fe last weekend, the Department of Game and Fish reported.

The encounter with the cat — estimated to weigh 100 pounds — occurred on the Aspen Vista Trail, a six-mile dirt road that winds through the Santa Fe National Forest near the ski basin.

``An encounter like this is exceptionally rare,'' said department spokesman Luke Shelby. Shelby presumably was speaking for New Mexico; cougar attacks are occurring with increasing regularity across the West, and many of them don't end on a positive note.

A Santa Fe man, whose name was withheld by the department at his request, said he had run about 20 minutes up the trail from the parking area Sunday morning. He said he stopped at a rocky outcropping to take a drink.

The mountain lion ``came right over the top of that rock,'' the runner told a department investigator.

The cat approached him, getting as close as the length of the ski poles he was carrying. Yelling and keeping eye contact with the cougar, he started backing down the trail, he said.

The runner threw his fanny pack and hit the animal, but it continued to follow him. At one point, the cougar took a swipe at the ski poles, the man reported.

``He kept backing down the trail and eventually the cougar quit following him,'' Shelby said.

As the man retreated, he ran into a group of hikers with dogs, and he speculated the cat may not have followed him any farther because it picked up their scents.

The department investigator who accompanied the runner later that day to retrieve his fanny pack and saw the cat's tracks in the snow speculated that the cat may have killed some prey nearby and was protecting it.

The man did the right thing, Shelby said.

``It's probably the first time the guy's ever seen a cougar, let alone had one really interested in him,'' he added.

Because the trail goes through aspen forest at its lower elevation, it is particularly busy on weekends in the fall, when the leaves are golden. But while it's popular with humans, it's cougar habitat nonetheless, Shelby said.

``There's food, water, cover and space. It's not a case of the cougar coming into town. This is a case where cougar habitat is being utilized by humans,'' he said.

The Game and Fish Department gets occasional reports of cougar sightings, but the cats are usually running away from the people who spot them, Shelby said.

There are an estimated 2000 mountain lions in New Mexico, according to the department. They range throughout the state, except for the extreme eastern portion, and live in terrain from desert to mountains. The Aspen Vista Trail starts at an elevation of 10,000 feet and climbs another 2000 feet.

Mature male cougars can weigh up to 150 pounds. They generally prey on deer, rabbits, other mountain lions, coyotes and sometimes elk, Shelby said. A mountain lion may attack a dog if the dog is smaller, he said.

People who encounter cougars should never run, Shelby said; it could trigger the cat's attack mechanism.

The department's advice: back away slowly and try to appear as large as possible, by holding a jacket open and over your head. Yelling is a good idea, and so is keeping eye contact. And fight back, the department says; don't quit.

Tips to prevent encounters:

— Don't go running or hiking in the mountains alone.

— Don't go to the mountains at dawn or dusk, when cougars could be hunting.

— Keep small children within arm's length.

— Carry a walking stick or ski pole. (How about a well-maintained .45? Nope, that's not politically correct. — Ed.)