Nanaimo woman scares off stalking cougar

A young woman from Nanaimo, B.C., managed to scare off a cougar that was stalking her as she rode herbike past a school on Monday evening.

RCMP says the animal started stalking the 18-year-old near the Mountainview Elementary School around 7 p.m. PT.

Sgt. Sheryl Armstrong says the young woman then had the presence of mind to confront the big cat.

"The cougar was low to the ground and circling her and she knew from having training of this in the past to immediately confront the cougar, which she did and the cougar then ran off into the bushes," said Armstrong.

Police and conservation officers have been searching for the animal, but have not been able to find it, she said.

Cougar sightings in the area are not rare and conservation officer Steve Ackles says the woman did the right thing by confronting the animal, noting people should never turn and run from a cougar.