The Best Kept Secret Blog - The Cougar Is Dead, Long Live The Cougar

In Tuesday's edition of the Toronto Star, Josey Vogels and Li Robbins declared cougars - as in older women looking for love (or a one night stand) in all the young places - an endangered species. They based their opinion on several man-on-the-street interviews.

If they're right, I've got to let some of my cougar friends know that they had better crawl right back into their dens because their hunting days are numbered. That's right - I know a cougar or two.

One friend in her mid-40's simply prefers men who are eight to ten years younger than her. She's been known to fudge/falsify - okay lie - about her age on her on-line dating profile so her name pops up when 35 year old men search for "women under 45".

Why does she prefer younger men? In her opinion, they're more ambitious, still go getter's, not as set in their ways as men closer to her age. And that appeals to her.

Some other 40-something friends likes young guys but due to slightly less complex reasons. They're attracted to the hot bods of youth. And you know, who can blame them? These women work out, look great and take good care of themselves. It's important to them.

How do the men respond? Well, judging by how things are going for my friends, pretty darn well.

The cougar cliché that Vogels and Robbins referred to isn't that far off. You could describe the cougars I know as "man-eating" (but only certain parts), "randy" (definitely), and "heaving-cleavaged" - (yes but only when they wear their good bras).

Maybe the men on the street were just jealous.