'It was just planted on the log': Cougar encounter caught on camera in Campbell River, B.C.

A Vancouver Island man captured video of a rare cougar encounter near Campbell River, B.C., on Tuesday.

Mike Anderson, 38, was walking his dog in the Beaver Lodge Lands, a sprawling network of forested trails southwest of the city, around 6:30 a.m.

Anderson said he walks Sage, his German shorthaired pointer, through the trails twice a day. But Tuesday was the first time he's seen a big cat in that area.

"It was just planted on the log, trying to blend in," Anderson told CTV News. "I've walked past that log numerous times and it just caught my eye that something was different."

In the short video of the encounter captured on Anderson's cellphone, the cougar is perched on the log, staring directly at the man and his dog, seemingly ready to pounce.

"I just backed away," Anderson said. "It just stayed on the log until I couldn’t see it anymore."

Anderson, a hobbyist wildlife photographer, said Sage didn't even seem to notice the cat. "She just kind of looked at me funny because I was talking in loud voice," he said.

The Campbell River man says he won't be caught without a proper camera in the area again.

"That's my one regret," he said of the encounter. "It was a cool experience and I'm glad it happened. They're in there all the time it's just a matter of when we see them or not."

While Vancouver Island is home to one of the largest cougar populations in the world, attacks on people are extremely rare.

The province urges anyone who encounters a cougar to make oneself as large as possible and back away slowly, keeping the cougar in front of you and ensuring the animal has a clear avenue of escape.

Turning one's back on a cougar and running away may provoke an attack, according to the B.C. government's guidelines for avoiding a cougar attack.

"If a cougar shows interest or follows you, respond aggressively, maintain eye contact with the cougar, show your teeth and make loud noise," the province says. "If a cougar attacks, fight back, convince the cougar you are a threat and not prey."