Cougars have been sighted during the past week at the southwest end of Canim Lake – where at least one of these big cats has killed two lambs – as well as in one of the provincial parks on North Green Lake.
100 Mile House Conservation Officer Colin Kravontka says the reports were called in to the Conservation Officer Service (COS) on July 25-26, but some sightings and killings had apparently occurred up to four days earlier, making investigations difficult.
The call at 9 a.m. on July 25 reported residents had just found two dead lambs on their farm that they believed were killed during the evening of July 23, he explains.
Kravontka notes when he arrived to investigate, the lamb carcasses were located about 75-100 metres apart in a fenced corral with about 50 head of sheep.
“We attended and spoke to [the residents], and then we did a walk of the area and we provided some advice … about husbandry and securing the smaller animals at night.”
While the report had first come in as a conflict with a bear, Kravontka says he soon determined through the evidence he saw that it was a cougar kill.
“They have taken steps to put up electric fencing around the perimeters … and that will [usually] keep bears out, but for the most part, cougars will go over it.
“[The residents] are going to monitor it. They don’t know if it was one cat or two cats, and we have no idea. The ground was so dry we just couldn’t find any tracks or hair even.”
Kravontka adds that by that time, all COs were able to determine is it’s very likely a cougar was responsible, not an aggressive bear as their neighbour had apparently sighted, but didn’t report.
At 10:30 a.m. on July 25, a woman called in from the same area of Canim Lake reporting a cougar she had seen four days ago, and noted a dog was missing in the neighbourhood, he says.
Kravontka notes that aside from securing small or young livestock and pets at night, clearing some brush to allow better visibility can also help prevent predator visits.
A call at 8 a.m. the same day reported someone walking their dog at a north Green Lake provincial park had come upon a bear near an outhouse, but it was not behaving aggressively and took off immediately after spotting them.
Kravontka recalls his office also had a similar call a few weeks ago about a cougar in a neighbourhood at Green Lake South.
Neither of the Green Lake reports had any action resulting or required by the COs, as they were not cases of human-wildlife conflict.
Anyone who sees cougars or bears, has any animal loss or other conflict with a predator is asked to report it as quickly as possible to the COS RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.
Timely reports are imperative to tracking the animals and even gathering evidence when the COs do need to resolve a livestock kill or any other wildlife conflict, Kravontka says, adding his office would like to get that message across to more people in the community.
“They can [also] call and just say ‘no concerns, I just want to report a sighting, that’s it’.”
The CO adds there are the usual reports of increased bear sightings.
“It’s also that time of year when the fruit is starting to ripen, so people need to be vigilant with their garbage and their … pet food and their properties. They need to be cleaning things up because it’s a great berry crop this year, it looks like.”
Learn more about how to prevent wildlife conflicts online at www.wildsafebc.com.
