A series of cougar encounters across the Tri-Cities in the last week escalated over the weekend after a Coquitlam family’s pug was killed outside their Burke Mountain home, prompting BC Conservation Officers to deploy hounds to track and trap the animal.
The deadly incident occurred at about 10:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, just after Lindsay McArthur had put her kids to bed. McArthur was well aware of several encounters with cougars over the past week in the Tri-Cities and so decided to take her dogs out one at a time.
When the four-months-old pug puppy, Olive, had finished up, they were headed back inside when McArthur said she heard a noise on the other side of their property line not far from the intersection of David Avenue and Coast Meridian Road.
“Then I heard 'crunch, crunch' on the other side of the fence,” she said, telling the Try-City News that the cat was likely getting ready to pounce on her little pug puppy. “Olive was a metre, a meter and a half away.”
In one swift motion, an adult cougar leapt clear over the fence, snatched the puppy by the neck and bounded back, out of sight.
“Olive didn’t make a peep,” McArthur said.
‘ANGER AND DISBELIEF’
The attack came so fast McArthur said she didn’t have time to be scared. But almost immediately, she was filled with anger and disbelief.
“I’m just screaming my head off,” she said.
Neighbours’ lights started flicking on. Startled by the commotion, people in the nearby townhouses began yelling down, “Are you OK?” said McArthur.
Her husband and one neighbour ran out with a hockey stick and a rake but it was too late.
After summoning Coquitlam RCMP through their non-emergency line, McArthur said she spotted police with their rifles and flashlights searching a nearby greenbelt.
But as McArthur put it, the big cat and its small prey “were just gone.”
MULTIPLE COUGAR ENCOUNTERS
Inside, McArthur took to Facebook that same night, posting a warning to neighbours on the Burke Mountain Community page.
“You don’t expect it to happen to you. That’s my fear for other people,” she told the Tri-City News.
The Burke Mountain incident was the third time a cougar had attacked a small dog off-leash in the Tri-Cities in less than a week.
Only a few days earlier, on Feb. 9, a Coquitlam resident was outside his home on Nash Drive with three small unleashed dogs, when a cougar grabbed one of them, running off with the canine in its mouth before dropping it a short distance away.
On Feb. 7, a cougar reportedly jumped on top of the small dog on a trail on the west side of Buntzen Lake as hundreds of people were out enjoying the afternoon sunshine. The big cat also dropped the dog after the owner was able to scare it away, but not before severely biting its neck.
Up until that point, the BCCOS said the rash of encounters all ended when the cougar showed fear after being challenged by a human, indicating that none of the animals had been habituated.
At the time, acting Sgt. Alicia Stark said “it's just hunting," and that “aggressive behaviour for us is going up to someone’s door in broad daylight.”
But in the days since the attack in the McArthur’s backyard, Coquitlam RCMP told the family it was “abnormal” for one of the big cats to leap into a person’s yard so close to its owner.
And in yet another incident revealed to the Tri-City News Tuesday, a BCCOS spokesperson said a cougar charged another person and their dog at nearby Norm Staff Park at dusk only a day after the pug was taken.
The spokesperson said conservation officers have deployed “enhanced resources” to respond to “repeated cougar behaviour that appears to be growing bolder around people.”
“While cougars targeting small dogs as prey is not unusual, this bold behaviour towards people with dogs is escalating,” wrote the spokesperson in an email.
Residents may see tracking dogs moving through their neighbourhoods as conservation officers use hounds to track down and locate at least one cougar thought to be linked to several dog attacks in Coquitlam, and a live trap has also been set for the cougar.
Conservation officers have posted signage in the Burke Mountain area warning of the attacks and the service is asking the public to monitor and report all cougar sightings in the Coquitlam area immediately to the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277.
‘YOU ALWAYS THINK YOU HAVE TIME’
The series of encounters offer a warning to small pet owners to keep their dogs leashed and close at hand, even when outside in their backyards.
McArthur said the cougar’s speed and willingness to get so close to her means people need to be especially vigilant. But she also wonders if anything else would have made a difference against the “nimble, almost gentle-looking” predator.
“They told me to use a leash,” she said, referring to conservation officers. “But if she was on a leash, it would have been a tug-of-war. Be a foot away from your dog. Be on your dog. Especially the smallest ones.”
She added: “You always think you’ll have time. But I didn’t have time. Scan your yard. January and February are the crazy hunting months.”
‘THEY HAD THEIR CRY’
The whole incident was made especially tough for the family after they spent months negotiating to fly out the puppy Olive from Toronto. At the same time, McArthur says her two children have found a way to accept the sudden loss of the family pet.
“They had their cry. But my son is pretty pragmatic about it. They love all animals. They know big cats hunt,” she said.
“Part of me hopes the cat, just, gets out of here. Just go. Because if you hang around, it’s not going to end well.”
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I SEE A COUGAR?
The BCCOS notes that cougar sightings are common across the Lower Mainland, especially in greenbelt areas found in many neighbourhoods across the Tri-Cities.
“If you spot a cougar near your home, it is most likely passing through the neighbourhood and will move on,” wrote the BCCOS.
Your best course of action is to bring children and pets inside, as it’s not unusual for cougars to target small dogs, or cats, as prey.
Also avoid leaving pet food and birdseed outside as this will attract raccoons and squirrels, which in turn may draw a cougar near your home to hunt.
Bringing pets indoors or keeping dogs leashed while outside can help prevent cougar conflicts. Avoid placing pet food or bird seed outside. This attracts prey species such as raccoons and squirrels, which may cause a cougar to hunt these animals near your home.
“If a cougar shows interest or follows you, make yourself look as large as possible, make a loud noise, and keep the cougar in front of you at all times. Never turn your back or run on a cougar,” recommended the BCCOS spokesperson.
