Upper Lynn Valley residents are being warned to keep their pets close and their children closer after a cougar has been spotted exhibiting stalking behaviour in the area.
Conservation officer Simon Gravel was called to a home on Irene Place, which backs onto the Lynn Creek watershed, Saturday morning when residents saw the big cat perched on a stump “just sitting there” for about 30 minutes.
The residents have two small dogs that are usually in the backyard, Gravel said, indicating the cougar was patiently waiting for them to be put outside.
“It definitely shows this cougar was hunting small pets in backyards in the area.
He was still. He was not moving. He was staring at the backyard. He’d probably heard the two little dogs and was waiting for an opportunity,” Gravel said.
The dogs had been exhibiting strange behaviour in the days leading up to the sighting, Gravel added.
Gravel and two RCMP members patrolled the area but couldn’t find the big cat. They then went door to door to inform the neighbourhood about the sighting and ask people to keep their pets indoors and children closely supervised.
There are no plans to shoot the cougar but Gravel wants resident to report it immediately if it shows up in the neighbourhood again.
“We’re not going to do a cougar hunt at this time. Nothing happened. It’s more about education,” he said. “There’s always cougars walking by but it’s unusual for cougars to be seen during the day like this.”
Anyone who spots a cougar should keep their distance and slowly back away. Sightings in developed areas should be reported to the conservation officer service at 1-877-952-7277.
