A cougar was spotted near Edgemont Village in North Vancouver Monday morning where it was later shot and killed by conservation officers.
Just after 9 a.m. this morning, RCMP conservation officers arrived at a home in the 3200 block of Highland Boulevard, just one block away from the busy retail area of Edgemont Village.
The Conservation Office had been tracking the animal through North Vancouver for a couple hours with reports that the cougar was preying on a family cat and racoons.
It is likely the one-year-old cougar has a sibling nearby, according to Sergent Todd Hunter with the Conservation Office.
Many cougars have been spotted in North Vancouver in recent weeks, including one shot and killed near Capilano River and Park Royal Mall in mid-May.
The District of North Vancouver warns residents to look out for cougars as they are a dangerous threat to children, pets and hikers. Cougars seem to be attracted to children, possibly because their high-pitched voices, small size, and erratic movements make it difficult for cougars to identify them as human and not prey. The District suggests keeping children in groups and within a fenced in area and ensuring they are not outside unsupervised between dusk and dawn.
Residents should also keep garbage indoors or in a wildlife-proof container until the morning of garbage day, and keep their pets indoors at night.
If you encounter a cougar:
- Never approach a cougar. Although cougars will normally avoid a confrontation, all wildlife are unpredictable. Cougars feeding on a kill may be dangerous.
- Always give a cougar an avenue of escape.
- Stay calm. Talk to the cougar in a confident voice.
- Pick all children up off the ground immediately. Children frighten easily and their rapid movements may provoke an attack.
- Do not run. Try to back away from the cougar slowly. Sudden movement or flight may trigger an instinctive attack.
- Do not turn your back on the cougar. Face the cougar and remain upright.
- Do all you can to enlarge your image. Don’t crouch down or try to hide. Pick up sticks or branches and wave them about.
- If a cougar behaves aggressively… Arm yourself with a large stick, throw rocks, speak loudly and firmly. Convince the cougar that you are a threat not prey.
- If a cougar attacks, fight back! Many people have survived cougar attacks by fighting back with anything, including rocks, sticks, and bare fists.
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