Thanks to Rhonda Hanuse for sharing this photo and her story with us.
A couple of weeks ago, Rhonda and her daughter Cheyenne were driving home near Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island. As they rounded a corner, in the distance they saw what looked like a deer but wasn’t.
“What was that?”
Rhonda reached for her camera and clicked away but was too late and she only got pictures of trees. She braked and slowly pulled over to the side of the road. She turned off the ignition and opened the two front windows a crack.
Cheyenne tapped her on the shoulder. “Mom look.” She pointed to the tall grass on the side of the road. The grass swayed in a straight line. The movement stopped a short distance away.
Two cougar kittens peeked out. Rhonda took pictures through the car window. One kitten looked toward the bushes where the mama had crossed. The mama cougar chirped to them from the other side of the highway; the kittens chirped back to their mom. After a while the more confident kitten crossed the highway. The second kitten kept an eye on Rhonda and her daughter. It started to cross only a few steps behind the first kitten, but had to turn back quickly because of an oncoming truck. Moments later, with mama-cougar chirps and no more traffic, the second kitten tried again and crossed safely.
For Rhonda and her daughter Cheyenne, this experience was priceless.
I’m so pleased that Rhonda agreed to share this photo and her story with us.
September 12, 2017 at 3:05 pm
What a great photo! Those cougar kittens are so cute!
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September 12, 2017 at 3:38 pm
I’d love to pet them but I bet their claws are like little chainsaws.
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September 12, 2017 at 3:07 pm
Wow! Many thanks to Rhonda for sharing such an incredible story. That’s one Cheyenne will be telling her grand kids someday. Thanks Anneli.
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September 12, 2017 at 3:37 pm
I would love to have been there to take that photo!
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September 12, 2017 at 3:09 pm
That was an unforgettable experience! What cute kittens!
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September 12, 2017 at 3:39 pm
They really are! Hard to imagine them growing up to be such killers. I know – they have to be – but still, they’re a beautiful scary animal.
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September 12, 2017 at 3:13 pm
Such beautiful kitties! I’m glad kitty crossed safely. ❤️😌
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September 12, 2017 at 3:40 pm
Yes, and I hope I never met kitty when he’s all grown up and meets me in the woods when I’m picking mushrooms.
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September 12, 2017 at 3:33 pm
Beautiful photo and I have to say I’m glad the story had a safe and happy ending! What an amazing experience.
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September 12, 2017 at 3:41 pm
They’re such gorgeous animals. Wouldn’t it be nice to cuddle them without fear of being killed by their mother?
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September 12, 2017 at 3:40 pm
What a great picture and experience!
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September 12, 2017 at 4:21 pm
Beautiful babies! Are they dangerous to dogs and house cats?
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September 12, 2017 at 6:30 pm
YES! The adult cats anyway.
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September 12, 2017 at 8:51 pm
Scary! I wonder if they are similar to our bobcats!
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September 12, 2017 at 10:25 pm
The cougar adults are way bigger.
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September 12, 2017 at 4:39 pm
Chirp, pause, traffic…wait..chirp..all clear little one! Talk about listening to Mom. The sweetest photo Anneli.
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September 12, 2017 at 6:31 pm
It is! Wish I’d been there to take it. So glad this lady sent me the photo.
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September 12, 2017 at 5:00 pm
They’re in Boulder this year! We have bobcats in our neighborhood. Super cool photo!
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September 12, 2017 at 6:30 pm
I’d watch my little dog with bobcats too.
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September 13, 2017 at 3:28 am
Aw….they’re adorable. Thanks, Rhonda!
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September 13, 2017 at 8:18 am
I’m hoping Rhonda will check this blog and see her post. Meanwhile, thanks, Jill, on behalf of Rhonda.
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September 13, 2017 at 10:21 am
Dear Rhonda, thanks for sharing this wonderful story and the perfect picture of those so so sweet babies on Anneli´s blog!
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September 13, 2017 at 10:47 am
This is an adorable photo! I love cougars. Thanks for sharing it! 🙂
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September 13, 2017 at 4:40 pm
Haha, I love them too when they aren’t on my back or killing my dogs. They really are beautiful animals.
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September 14, 2017 at 11:46 am
I know what you mean! I’ve never seen one up close, but when I was driving once, I saw one run across the road a little ways ahead of me. It was amazing. Did one really kill your dogs?
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September 14, 2017 at 12:06 pm
Oh no. I meant that they could and would, given the chance. It happens once in a while that dogs and cats are killed when cougars wander close to town. Not mine. But I’m very careful when I let them out at night. Always on a leash and not too far from the house. We live in a rural area so we need to be watchful.
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September 15, 2017 at 4:19 pm
Well that’s good. Yes they would. We live in a rural area too so I watch our dog when she goes out in the backyard at night too.
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September 13, 2017 at 6:39 pm
I like your post 😊.
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September 13, 2017 at 7:09 pm
Thank you.
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September 13, 2017 at 7:14 pm
I’m so glad they made it across the road safely!
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September 13, 2017 at 7:24 pm
I guess they take their lives into their hands quite often. I’m glad they made it safely too.
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September 14, 2017 at 3:37 am
so cool!
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September 14, 2017 at 7:45 am
Yeah! I would love to have been there to see that!
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September 14, 2017 at 4:35 pm
What a precious picture. I love living with nature, Anneli. Thanks for sharing the photo and story.
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September 14, 2017 at 6:04 pm
I was so glad Rhonda shared this. Wish I could have been there!
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September 17, 2017 at 8:20 am
Glad you are friends with Rhonda! This would be a wonderful, dreamy experience, Anneli. Wow! Those cougar kittens look small enough, without knowing their age, I would have thought the mama cougar would have picked one at a time by the scruff of the neck and carried them each across!
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September 17, 2017 at 8:25 am
I guess with nothing to compare the size to, they look pretty small, but I think they’re too big for her to carry anymore. Cute though, aren’t they?
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September 18, 2017 at 3:30 am
I do agree, it’s hard to say their size, Anneli! I was just worried about crossing streets and the highway.
They were super cute!
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September 18, 2017 at 8:34 am
They are!
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September 18, 2017 at 9:17 am
How awesome to catch this sight, and to capture it in a memory shot too … such a rarity. I just got back from the country and saw wildlife I never get to see. One night, in the distance, we saw something black moving across a field. It moved stealth like a cat, but was as big as my Australian Shepherd. It was too far away to catch with a photo or even make out what kind of animal. It still bugs me that we couldn’t figure out what it was. All we could tell was that it was black with a long bushy tail. A fox? A coyote? A wolf? I wish we knew. Anyway, you’ll see where we just returned from on my upcoming post this week.
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September 18, 2017 at 9:43 am
Depending on where you were, my first guess would be a coyote. But it depends on how black it looked and whether that was because it was in shadow. Coyotes would look more like a colour to blend with the dry grasses. If it was night, as you said, it could have been a coyote. They would look darker then. Wolves are rarely seen, but coyotes are getting to be not as shy. Wouldn’t it be great if we could instantly snap photos of these things?!
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September 18, 2017 at 10:46 am
The zoom lens on my camera goes pretty far, and I zoomed in right up close, but because it was dusk (almost dark) it wouldn’t focus properly. If it focused, I could’ve snapped it and figured out what that dang thing was. I’m so curious.
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September 18, 2017 at 10:53 am
It’s one of those things you’ll probably always wonder about.
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October 6, 2017 at 2:36 pm
I guess it’s National Kitten Day for me and you. 🙂
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October 6, 2017 at 6:18 pm
I wouldn’t mind if every day was National Kitten Day.
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