15 4 Moose Moose freq uent large areas of bo th British Columbia and the Y u k on Commonly sight ed the y are seldom per ceiv ed as a threat t o humans but be a w are charges fr om moose do occur par ticular ly fr om a co w moose pr o t ecting a calf in spring fr om an orner y bull or a bull in rutting season Sept ember Although moose ap pear large and ungainly the y can mo v e e xtremely q uickly If y ou encount er a moose it is best t o increase the distance be tw een y ou and the moose k eeping a nearb y tree in mind t o either climb or k eep be tw een y ou and the moose In relativ ely densely timbered areas y ou ma y a v oid injur y fr om an attacking bull moose b y using closely spaced trees as a barrier Stand behind trees spaced about one f oo t apar t ie t oo narr o w a space t o permit access b y the moose because of the spread of its antler s Extra caution is required when driving as mo t or v ehicle acci dents in v olving moose are of t en fatal Co ugar s The cou gar is the largest cat nativ e t o British Columbia and w eighs on a v erage be tw een 45 t o 55 kilograms The y are elusiv e and possess remar k able hunting skills Cougar s normally a v oid humans ho w e v er the freq uency of attacks is increasing These attacks are usually attribut ed t o star ving cougar s If y ou w or k where y ou kno w cougar s are common it is wise t o carr y a hea vy w alking stick t o use if def ensiv e action is req uired If y ou come acr oss a kill lea v e it alone and do no t bend o v er t o e x a m i n e t h e car cass Le a v e the are a calmly and as q u ickly as po ssible