West Vancouver police are reminding the public of how to behave when they come across a cougar after one was sighted near the district on Tuesday night.
Several residents reported seeing a cougar near Chief Joe Mathias Centre in the Squamish Nation around 9:30 p.m.
B.C. Conservation Service officers and Squamish Nation Peace Keepers were both notified.
Police recommend following these tips during cougar encounters:
- Do not approach a cougar, especially a kitten because its mother may be nearby.
- Gather and protect your children.
- Keep eye contact and back away slowly without running running may trigger a cougars pursuit instinct.
- Act aggressively by looking large, waving your arms, shouting and throwing stones or branches.
- If attacked, try to keep facing the cougar and fight back with your walking stick, pepper spray, stones and any weapon that comes to hand.
- Keep children indoors around dawn and dusk, the favourite times of day for a cougar on the hunt.
- Do not feed wildlife that would be potential prey for a cougar.
- Keep standing, even if you are picking up a child. (A bending or crouching person may look like four-legged prey to a cougar.)
Cougar sightings should be reported to the West Vancouver police at 604-925-7300.
