B.C.’s conservation officer service is warning residents in Deep Cove’s Woodlands neighbourhood after a series of reports of a cougar getting a little too close for comfort.
With plenty of wilderness, trails and deer, the area along Indian Arm is ideal for cougars, but the reports conservation officer Sgt. Todd Hunter has been receiving indicate some abnormal behaviour, including approaching people’s homes.
A video of a large cat timidly exploring someone’s Woodlands area driveway on New Year’s Eve before slinking off has been making the rounds on social media and through local news outlets since Thursday. Hunter said there’s been a spike in calls in the area since snow started accumulating at higher elevations in December.
“It’s not confirmed if there’s one or more. We have known that there was a family unit in the Deep Cove area. During the summer months last year, we destroyed one,” Hunter said.
But Hunter said, people in the neighbourhood aren’t always forthcoming when it comes to providing the kind of information the officers need when deciding how to respond.
“They do not wish to call us and tell us what the cougar did or is doing and how frequently. It’s actually more difficult in making our decision. Most people don’t necessarily like the ultimate outcome but people have to realize that safety is paramount and if (the cougars) are habituated to non-natural food sources like domestic animals, than we’re ramping up the public safety issue,” he said. “If we don’t know about those things, it can snowball and we can have an incident where someone is injured or killed as a result. We don’t want that.”
In the meantime, Hunter said he is monitoring the situation very closely and he wants residents and visitors to the area’s trails to be wary.
Everyone should be make sure their dogs and cats are never left to roam the area, he said.
“If they’re left out and you back onto a wooded greenbelt or you live in that Woodlands area, it’s just making it a little bit more dangerous,” he said.
For those on the trails, Hunter advises being a little extra vigilant about your environment, keeping eyes and ears open, hiking with a buddy or in a group, keeping dogs leashed and making plenty of noise on the trail. He also recommends carrying a stick or bear spray to defend yourself in the unlikely but potential case of a confrontation.
Should you cross paths with a Puma concolor, make yourself appear big, shout like hell at the cougar and never attempt to run, which will trigger the cat’s chasing instinct.
Anyone who spots a cougar should call the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP).
