A skinny juvenile cougar was shot dead in Deep Cove by conservation officers Thursday evening after it clawed at a door and tried to get inside a home.
“And it would just not leave and was constantly pressing against the door handle,” said conservation officer Todd Hunter, of a report given by the homeowner.
The incident unfolded around 8:30 p.m. in the backyard of a home in the 2000-block of Panorama Drive, a couple blocks from the popular Quarry Rock hiking trail. North Vancouver RCMP officers observed the cougar sitting upright and then climbing a tree to a height of 10 metres.
Once conservation officers arrived, they saw the big cat showed no signs of fear and it was destroyed, said Hunter.
At the neighbouring property, John Evoy heard the commotion as conservation officers shot the cougar, estimated to be no more than one-and-a-half years old.
“It was pretty loud,” said Evoy.
Evoy couldn’t believe his eyes when around 9 a.m. Friday morning he saw a similar-looking cougar in the same area.
“I went to walk the dog out back, and I went ‘What the hell? I thought they shot it,’” said Evoy.
Hunter confirmed a second cougar was spotted in the same Panorama Drive neighbourhood Friday morning. This feline, however, didn’t suffer the same fate.
That cat showed no signs of aggression, so it was hazed out of the area with rubber bullets, said Hunter.
It’s presumed the two cougars spotted are siblings, said Hunter. In the case of the killed cougar, Hunter’s theory is that it may have been trying to track a domesticated pet from the backyard into the house.
“They are probably in the area looking for small animals to prey on,” said Hunter.
In terms of public safety concerns, Hunter said conservation officers are considering having a cougar warning sign put up at the Quarry Rock trailhead.
In general, people should be vigilant near forested areas and not let dogs run ahead, Hunter said.
Hunter said cougars are not relocated like bears sometimes are because there has not been documented success in North America.
This is the third cougar shot on the North Shore this season. One cougar was shot near Edgemont in June and another was shot near Park Royal in May.
“It would be dangerous for us to reintroduce a cougar that has been in conflict with human beings already,” said Hunter.
