Latest news with #MaxStobbe
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trail near Garibaldi Lake closed after hikers have scary cougar encounter
B.C. Parks has shut down a popular hiking trail in the Sea-to-Sky region after two hikers' video of a cougar encounter went viral. Margaux Cohen and her hiking partner Max Stobbe were walking along the Rubble Creek trail on Sunday morning, near the popular Garibaldi Lake about 70 kilometres north of Vancouver, when Cohen realized she was only two or three feet from a large cat. "I screamed a little bit and I told Max, 'Oh my God, there's a cougar right in front of me. Back away,'" she told CBC News. "So we started to back away. I got pretty scared, so I gave my bear spray to Max."Stobbe then captured video of the cougar standing quite close to the couple, and said the cat wouldn't back away for a long time. "We're stuck on the trail there for about 45 minutes because he wouldn't let us pass," he said. "We just waited until there's about 15 more people that came up behind us and there's enough people to finally spook them," he added. Now, B.C. Parks has shut down the trail until at least June 17 to ensure public safety, saying they responded to multiple cougar sightings on Sunday and Monday. "Campers and hikers were safely escorted out of the area by [conservation officers] due to the aggressive behaviour of these cougars," a spokesperson for the Environment Ministry said on Tuesday. "COs remain in the area today to monitor and assess cougar activity." The spokesperson said any other aggressive cougar behaviour should be reported to their hotline. 'I've always heard horror stories' Jesse Zeman from the B.C. Wildlife Federation said that the cougar's behaviour in Stobbe's video is highly unusual, and the large cats normally try and avoid people. "What everybody hopes is the animals just move on," he said. "And that's the end of this. "But I think if that behaviour continues, then you know, there's something's going to have to be done in that area." Zeman encourages hikers to travel in large groups, carry bear spray and make loud noises to encourage cougars to move on. Cohen and Stobbe say they yelled at the cougar, but the animal continued to keep its eye on them during the encounter. "It was, like, too close for my liking. And I had never seen a cougar before," Cohen said. "We've seen a lot of bears together because we hike a lot and like, I'm not really scared of bears — but I've always heard horror stories about cougars' attack." But the hikers say the encounter won't deter them from hiking the backcountry again this weekend. "It's the mountains, right? You never know. There's always going to be wildlife," Cohen said. "I guess you just have to, you know, be careful."
CTV News
14-06-2025
- CTV News
‘It was terrifying': B.C. hiker describes encounter with cougar on popular trail near Whistler
A popular hiking trail between Squamish and Whistler will be closed this weekend because of aggressive cougar behaviour. Margaux Cohen is an outdoor content creator from Whistler, B.C., who feels at home in the forest. 'This is all I do, to be honest. When I'm not working, I'm in the mountains,' she said. On Sunday, June 8, Cohen and her hiking partner Max Stobbe were heading down Rubble Creek Trail after a hike to Garibaldi Lake, between Squamish and Whistler, when they rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a cougar. 'The cougar was right in front of me,' said Cohen. 'I'm not even exaggerating when I'm saying this, but it was like two or three feet away from me – so I instantly screamed.' The pair backed away and made noise to try to scare the cougar off, but it crouched just off the trail and didn't move for 45 minutes. 'I would not take the risk to pass him. You don't turn your back on a cougar,' she said. ' I was really surprised that the cougar wasn't moving.' Unable to scare the animal away, and with only one route back to the trailhead, Cohen and Stobbe decided to wait at a safe distance with bear spray in hand. 'It was terrifying. My heart was racing,' said Cohen. 'My friends and I, we hike places where you will not see anybody for the entire day. So you would never think there would be cougars on that trail that has hundreds of people every day in summertime.' Eventually, a large group of hikers coming the other way made enough noise to scare the cougar off. But the next day, hikers reported being stalked by two cougars on the same trail. Conservation officers were forced to evacuate several nearby campgrounds and close the trail for a week. 'I think that's a great call – give the cougars some time to move along without any further confrontation possible with people on the trails,' said Siobhan Darlington, project lead with the Southern B.C. Cougar Project. She believes the cougar that crouched beside the trail for 45 minutes was simply curious to see humans, but two cougars stalking people is very unusual. 'This could be potentially either a mother and a sub-adult, or two sub-adults together. That's usually the case where you would see two animals alongside one another,' Darlington said. Her advice for anyone who encounters cougars in the woods? Make noise and make yourself big. 'Stand your ground. If you see a cougar, don't turn your back to it. Remain calm and put your arms above your head, put a backpack or something above you to make yourself look big,' said Darlington, who also recommends throwing things at the big cat to scare it off. While close encounters are scary, she said cougars don't see people as prey, and attacks are exceedingly rare. 'If that ever does happen, it's usually an animal that is sick or injured or something – that's not a healthy cougar doing normal cougar things,' Darlington said. Darlington hopes by the time the the trail is reopened on Tuesday, June 17, the cougars will have moved on. 'They have very large home ranges,' she said. 'They typically won't stay in one area for very long, not more than a couple of days before they move off.' Cohen is an avid hiker who frequently sees black bears, but has never caught a glimpse of a cougar. Stobbe managed to shoot 15 seconds of the big cat on his phone, which he posted to TikTok. While the encounter was frightening, it was a hike the pair will never forget. 'They always see you, but you never see them most of the time,' Cohen said. 'So the fact that I got to see one this close and nothing happened to me is great.'
CBC
12-06-2025
- CBC
Hiker capture cougar sighting at popular B.C. trail
In a video posted to TikTok, Max Stobbe and his hiking partner Margaux Cohen encounter a cougar near the popular Garibaldi Lake trail in B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky region. B.C. Parks has since closed the Rubble Creek trail for a week due to the "aggressive behaviour" of cougars.
CBC
12-06-2025
- CBC
Trail near Garibaldi Lake closed after hikers have scary cougar encounter
Social Sharing B.C. Parks has shut down a popular hiking trail in the Sea-to-Sky region after two hikers' video of a cougar encounter went viral. Margaux Cohen and her hiking partner Max Stobbe were walking along the Rubble Creek trail on Sunday morning, near the popular Garibaldi Lake about 70 kilometres north of Vancouver, when Cohen realized she was only two or three feet from a large cat. "I screamed a little bit and I told Max, 'Oh my God, there's a cougar right in front of me. Back away,'" she told CBC News. "So we started to back away. I got pretty scared, so I gave my bear spray to Max." WATCH | Stobbe's video of cougar encounter: Hiker capture cougar sighting at popular B.C. trail 48 minutes ago Duration 0:15 In a video posted to TikTok, Max Stobbe and his hiking partner Margaux Cohen encounter a cougar near the popular Garibaldi Lake trail in B.C.'s Sea-to-Sky region. B.C. Parks has since closed the Rubble Creek trail for a week due to the "aggressive behaviour" of cougars. Stobbe then captured video of the cougar standing quite close to the couple, and said the cat wouldn't back away for a long time. "We're stuck on the trail there for about 45 minutes because he wouldn't let us pass," he said. "We just waited until there's about 15 more people that came up behind us and there's enough people to finally spook them," he added. Now, B.C. Parks has shut down the trail until at least June 17 to ensure public safety, saying they responded to multiple cougar sightings on Sunday and Monday. "Campers and hikers were safely escorted out of the area by [conservation officers] due to the aggressive behaviour of these cougars," a spokesperson for the Environment Ministry said on Tuesday. "COs remain in the area today to monitor and assess cougar activity." The spokesperson said any other aggressive cougar behaviour should be reported to their hotline. 'I've always heard horror stories' Jesse Zeman from the B.C. Wildlife Federation said that the cougar's behaviour in Stobbe's video is highly unusual, and the large cats normally try and avoid people. "What everybody hopes is the animals just move on," he said. "And that's the end of this. "But I think if that behaviour continues, then you know, there's something's going to have to be done in that area." Zeman encourages hikers to travel in large groups, carry bear spray and make loud noises to encourage cougars to move on. Cohen and Stobbe say they yelled at the cougar, but the animal continued to keep its eye on them during the encounter. "It was, like, too close for my liking. And I had never seen a cougar before," Cohen said. "We've seen a lot of bears together because we hike a lot and like, I'm not really scared of bears — but I've always heard horror stories about cougars' attack." But the hikers say the encounter won't deter them from hiking the backcountry again this weekend.
