A West Shore woman says she feared for her life when she came face-to-face with a large cougar that stared her down without backing off Thursday night.

Shannon Vye was walking through the forest near Royal Roads University in Colwood with her landlord’s dog Bookie.

“He was about two feet in front of me and I just glanced over my right shoulder and there was kitty, laying down,” she said.

The large cougar, which conservation officers estimate to be about two years old, was staring down Vye, who quickly put the dog on a leash.

“I started to back away and that’s when he got up and started to follow in a threatening matter,” she said. “I started screaming at him and yelling, and he just was totally unresponsive.”

Vye’s instinct kicked in and she remembered not to turn around and run – instead staring back at the cougar square in the eye and calling 911.

“I’ve never had anything stare at me like that in my entire life,” she said. “That’s all I could do was stare back and just pray ‘please, please, please do not come after me, this is now how I want to go.’”

After a terrifying 15-minute stand-off, Mounties finally arrived on scene, running into the bushes and scaring the cougar off with guns drawn.

“As soon as I saw the rescuers, I kind of broke down,” she said.

Conservation officers say cougar attacks on people are extremely rare, with only one person being attacked every year on Vancouver Island.

But more and more people are reporting encounters with the big cats, prompting advice from conservation.

“Don’t scream, don’t run, make yourself look as big as possible, open your coat, open your umbrella or whatever you have with you, pick up small children and back up the way you came saying ‘Hey cougar, hey cougar,’” said Conservation Officer Stuart Bates. “The main thing with cougars is do not take your eyes off it. Make sure you stare it in the eyes so it knows it’s not going to surprise you.”

Vye says she and the dog won’t be wandering in the woods alone again anytime soon, calling the encounter “the scariest moment” she’s ever experienced.

The incident prompted RCMP to issue a warning to residents in the area asking them to watch out for the big cat.

Notices have been placed around campus warning of the sighting and Mounties are advising people to avoid the area until further notice. 

With a report from CTV Vancouver Island's Louise Hartland