Residents are being warned to watch out for cougars that have been prowling the area attacking dogs and livestock."It's worrisome when cougars frequent developed areas, and it's worrisome when they're attacking domestic animals and pets," said conservation officer Chris Doyle.Two weeks ago, a dog was reported killed by a cougar near the Elements residential development along the Mamquam River. And while hordes of residents turned out to Brennan Park Recreation Centre to vote for a federal Member of Parliament Tuesday Oct. 14, a wildlife drama was taking place just a few blocks away.In response to the killing of a large goat on a property off Loggers Lane on Oct. 13, Thanksgiving Monday, conservation officers were busy setting a trap for a predatory cougar loose in the area."That cougar we subsequently shot [on Wednesday morning]," said Doyle. "It was a large adult male."But the scare wasn't over. On Saturday (Oct. 18), local whippet enthusiast Penny Wilmot sent out a mass email after a cougar attacked her dog while they were walking along the dike trail near the municipal dog pound."She, hopefully, is going to be OK, lots of stitches," wrote Wilmot.Residents have also called in cougar sightings around trails surrounding the Squamish Valley Golf and Country Club, along Government Road, and in Brackendale."We're not sure if that's the same cougar that was killing livestock or not," said Doyle.What is certain is that one and possibly two cougars still are on the loose.The recent incidents mirror a similar situation in June when a sick-looking female cougar took to chasing cyclists on trails in and around Alice Park.This year has been the worst year to human/cougar conflict in recent memory, said Doyle. "We've had to destroy more cougars in the last three or four months than the last three or four years in Squamish, so it's definitely a higher than normal number of cougar conflicts," he said. "And we've had approximately 60 sightings this year."The conservation office can't point to specific reasons why the cougar presence has escalated, but Doyle said answers are usually found in nature."Basically cougars are predators and they're coming into developed areas and preying on non-natural prey because they're having a hard time hunting natural prey [deer]." And that means there's only one thing to do when officers catch up with the stalkers."Those animals are shot," said Doyle. "It's not like we have any place to put them where they would do any better." The last reported cougar sighting was on Saturday (Oct. 18), so the conservation office is waiting for fresh leads before it resumes tracking."We certainly will take the opportunity to track the cougar down if we have a fresh sighting or lead to go off of," said Doyle.In the meantime, officers are advising people to be especially vigilant over pets and small children, and to be very cautious when using trails along the river where "there is at least one cougar patrolling.""People need to be aware at all times when they're out on the trails in Squamish that there are cougars and bears out there," said Doyle. "They should be prepared to encounter those animals."
