The B.C. Conservation Officer Service and the RCMP are investigating a cougar sighting in a populated area in Sooke on Tuesday afternoon.
The large cat was spotted at about 1 p.m. on Waddams Way in central Sooke.
Shelley Noyes, of the Sooke Family Resource Society, said a boy came into their facility at 6672 Waddams Way and reported a cougar jumped out onto the pathway and startled him. The cougar quickly jumped back into the bushes and disappeared.
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“None of us saw him (the cougar). We are being a little cautious, but not overly concerned. This is Sooke, and we know that there are cougars around the area all the time anyway,” Noyes said.
Police and conservation officers were unable to locate the cougar.
In an interview last spring, conservation officer Scott Norris said cougars will rarely approach humans.
“They really aren’t that interested in people and are very shy. When we have had attacks though, they usually happen with no warning and people are jumped from behind,” Norris said.
The best advice if one encounters a cougar, said Norris, is to never turn your back or run but to back away slowly, making yourself appear as big as possible.
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