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Governor Proclaims Saturday `Cougar Smart New Mexico Day'

Gov. Bill Richardson has declared Saturday as "Cougar Smart New Mexico Day" to alert hikers, bikers and other outdoor recreationists that New Mexico is cougar country, according to a news release from the state Department of Game and Fish.

 [...]

• Don't run; stand your ground if a cougar is seen nearby.


• Keep children close and calm.


• Hike in groups and make noise to avoid surprising a cougar.


• Carry a walking stick and use it to fight back in the rare event that an encounter becomes an attack.

Heh.  Sounds like good advice, I suppose.  Thanks, Guv'nor Bill.  We needed this, especially our impressionable young men.  But, New Mexico is cougar country?  Who knew?  I can't vouch for that.  Unfortunately.