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Cougar Sighting in Provo Canyon During Night Mountain Bike Ride
Seeing a cougar in the wild has been a dream and fear for me. Like a shark, cougars are solitary animals rarely allowing themselves to be seen, and when seen its usually too late at that point… I was hit with so much adrenaline last night when I saw the big cat leap (I’m talking super man here) across the trail 30 yards ahead of me and around a corner, that I instantly pedaled into pursuit. (In hindsight perhaps not the best idea, I wanted to see it again because, hey, its a cougar, and I wanted to know where it was going to avoid it) Many animal sightings of this nature are frequently called into question, I’ve been a nature and animal nerd my whole life, my nerdyness focused mostly on birds of prey and big cats, so I immediately knew what it was. Even though the sun was down and I had turned my bike headlight on just two minutes earlier, there was enough light to make out shape, color, size etc. Had it not been between me and the still illuminated western horizon, I may not have seen it at all, or thought it was a deer.
The slight noise of movement on rocks made me look up, and then I saw Mr. Cougar fly across the trail and disappear around a turn. I raced around the turn and switched on a second LED light and panned the hillsides for any sign of the mountain lion, with no luck. It was either long gone, or watching me from the grass…creepy. I had seen two guys trail running way back on the trail I thought were heading this way so I attempted to go back and give them a heads up, they were too far back so I assumed the two men would be okay, so I turned around and had to go back through the danger zone. Again, in hindsight maybe not the best idea. I was worried about taking my normal single track route down as it was in heavy brush and by this time it was very dark, so I took a double lane fire trail back to town…. my adrenaline fueled heart beating the whole way home, and not from the bike ride.
Cougar Sighting Location in Provo Canyon, Utah:
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Born in the rocky mountains. Lifelong outdoor enthusiast who loves Camping, Hiking, Skiing, Backpacking, Fishing, Mountain Biking, Surfing - you name it. I now share my love for the outdoors with my wife and son.
They are certainly out there in the wasatch foothills. Which always seems to creep in the back of my mind when I’m on a “man, I really should have started a little earlier” kind of ride, and the sun has just gone down, and you are the only person on the trail. A sudden deer crashing through the brush unseen is a cougar. Count yourself lucky, one that it wasn’t that interested in you or you never would have seen it coming, two that you even saw it at all.
But then again, aren’t there supposed to be cougars all over provo?
Yeah, it was dark and not the right time of day to be out alone, but I thought I was near enough to civilization. I think the only reason I saw it is because I had just crested a hill and it may have not heard/seen me coming. I’m glad I did see it, now I know I can’t have blind ignorance in telling myself they aren’t where I am cause I can’t see them. (although I’m sure for the one that I’ve seen, there have been plenty more that have seen me.
And yes cougars everywhere in Provo for some reason.