Residents are urged to be cautious after at least one potential cougar sighting in the village last week.
On April 19 a cougar was sighted in the area around 3rd Ave NW and 4th St NW. Though it wasn’t confirmed, the consensus seems to be a large cat, larger than the average domestic house cat.
Though coming into contact with a cougar is very rare, it does occasionally happen.
“Coming into contact with a cougar is quite unlikely, but it’s always good if you have children outdoors that you make sure they’re playing in groups, or that they’re supervised.” said Sgt. Cynthia Mann of the West Kootenay Conservation Office. “Small pets should be leashed and under control, and play in fenced areas.”
Feeding pets indoors is another recommendation, along with keeping domestic livestock in pens or barns at night.
Roaming pets are easy prey for cougars, and it’s recommended owners bring them in at night. When out walking, keep them on a leash. If out walking or hiking, do so in groups of two or more so any wildlife can hear you and prevent any conflict.
For the most part cougars are out between dusk and dawn. That doesn’t mean people won’t see them at any other time, they will roam and hunt any other time of day, but they’re most active during that time.
Sgt. Mann has some suggestions if a resident ever does come across one.
“If you see a cougar, never approach it,” she said. “You want to give it a wide berth so that it has an avenue of escape. What you want to do is make it known to the cougar that you’re a threat and definitely not prey by yelling at it, throwing a rock at it, speaking loudly, things like that. Try to back away slowly from it, you don’t want to create any sudden movements, and you don’t want to turn your back on it.”
Sgt. Mann says conservation officers don’t want to put a huge amount of fear into people, they just want residents to be smart about where they live and what they can do to avoid any kind of conflict with local wildlife.
She also recommends calling the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) Line.
“We can only report on what people are reporting to us,” she said. “If people aren’t calling in sightings, we can’t track them.”
The number for the RAPP Line is 1-877-952-7277.
