Yesterday, hounds sniffed around at the entrance to Valleycliffe in pursuit of a cougar.
On Wednesday (April 18) at 3 a.m., a resident saw what they later reported as a cougar carrying a lifeless dog in its mouth. The sighting was at the intersection of Guilford and Valley Drive, metres away from Stawamus elementary school.
Two conservation officers scouted the area to no avail before calling in a tracker with dogs. The fact the cougar may have killed a pet wasn't the catalyst for the search, said Sergeant Peter Busink. Cougars usually become protective of the area in which they hide their kill. If this cougar placed its food by the school or near a walking or biking trail, it could become a danger to the public, he said.
We were unable to find the cougar or the kill, Busink said.
As a precaution, the District of Squamish has closed the Stawamus River Dike trail.
There have been a number of cougar sightings in Squamish this year. In February, conservation officers shot a cougar that killed a dog in the backyard of a house on the Cheekye Reserve. Last month, officers were called out to the area around Mamquam Elementary School. Cougars are not rare, but they are elusive animals, Busink said. They often keep out of people's sight. Asked if Squamish has a large cougar population, Busink said it was difficult to tell, but their population growth is usually cyclical.
The one thing that is happening is our (hotline) is becoming more well-known, he said. So we do get more reports.
Residents bordering green space should keep their pets inside at night, Busink noted, adding cougars are usually more active in the evening.
Staff at the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations estimate there are between 5,150 to 7,000 cougars in the province. Human deaths caused by cougars are extremely rare. In the past 100 years, the cats have killed a total of five people, stated a provincial safety guide on Cougars in B.C. By comparison, bees kill upwards of three Canadians every year, the document noted.
If you see a cougar in the Squamish call the conservation 24-hour hotline at 1-877-952-7277.
