There have been a string of cougar attacks on dogs this spring on the southern Sunshine Coast, and conservation officers have destroyed one cougar in Gibsons after it was deemed a risk to the public.
“We’ve had probably about four cougar attacks on dogs,” said Sgt. Dean Miller of the Conservation Officer Service. “So that is definitely a reminder for the public to keep their dogs in fenced yards and when they’re out on trails, keeping the dogs under control by leash or by command if you want to ensure your pet’s safety.”
One attack occurred in Roberts Creek, another in Wilson Creek; the same cougar was likely involved in both, said Miller. The other two were in West Sechelt and Langdale. All attacks occurred this month.
Miller said there has been “quite a bit of cougar activity on the Coast” over the past three weeks.
In another incident last week, COS officers destroyed a cougar in Lower Gibsons after it was deemed a risk to the public.
The cat was killing wild animals, including racoons and a deer, and dragging them underneath a resident’s porch. Attempts to discourage the cat from returning failed.
Normally, cougars are ranging and opportunistic predators that eat once every four to seven days.
“In this case for whatever reason this cat had brought three different prey animals killed under this deck,” said Miller.
“Given that it was a contained yard, that creates a potential for threat.”
While it was fully grown, officers believe it was a “younger dispersing cat” based on the size of its teeth. They suspect it had a sibling because the same evening it was removed, the resident reported hearing another cougar nearby.
In B.C., cougar conflicts typically relate to the predation of livestock, but a higher population in southern coastal areas, including the Sunshine Coast, means juvenile dispersing cats are found in more urban areas and they are involved in “most human attacks,” said Miller.
Dispersing siblings tend to stay together as a survival strategy as they learn to hunt more efficiently.
So far officers have opted not to interfere with the second cougar since it may have been looking for its sibling. “[We are] hoping it would move on and develop more natural strategies for survival,” Miller said.
The majority of COS responses to cougars involve educating the public or investigating calls about cougars sighted on larger, unfenced acreages, which allow cougars to retreat into the wild.
