Conservation officers have killed a pair of young cougars in Roberts Creek.
The cougars were part of a group of three – believed to be an adult female and its offspring – that had been spotted in the area of Hanbury and Crystal roads, where they snatched chickens from a coop and were becoming increasingly bold about approaching people and homes.
“These cats [were] quite comfortable approaching people and getting near other livestock and horses,” conservation officer Dean Miller told Coast Reporter, adding the cougars had also stalked a woman walking along a logging road in the area three days earlier. “That’s when our public safety hat comes on.”
According to Miller, the two juvenile cougars were trapped separately on Sunday (Feb. 5), but the adult eluded efforts to track it. Miller said that could turn out to be one of the better outcomes of what was a bad situation. “The mother, without the young, will disperse and won’t remain as a problem.”
Miller said it’s unlikely the group was the same one seen in the Bonniebrook area of Gibsons in late January. He said it’s also unlikely that recent logging in the area had anything to do with the cougars’ appearance in the neighbourhood, and it was probably a case of coming across relatively easy prey at a time when winter conditions were making it harder to find their usual sources of food.
Miller said the Conservation Officer Service (COS) has asked people in the neighbourhood to call the toll-free RAPP Line (1-877-952-7277) if the adult cougar returns.
He also said the COS has had at least eight cougar reports in the past few weeks, possibly because of the heavy snowpack at the higher altitudes, and people should report any sightings and follow the usual safety advice if they’re outdoors: make some noise, keep children close and dogs leashed, and watch for signs of cougar activity such as tracks in the snow.
For more, see www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/cougsf.htm
