There are not many people who can boast about being distracted from work by a bobcat. But Friday afternoon that’s what happened to Craig Cherlet.
“I was sitting in my office typing away when I looked up and thought ‘Oh that’s a big cat,’” the Garibaldi Highlands resident said.
The large, healthy looking bobcat casually strolled through the bottom of Cherlet’s garden along a trail that connects to Mashiter Creek. Bears often walk along the track, but this was the first time Cherlet’s seen a bobcat.
“I was totally in awe,” he said, noting he tapped on the window and the bobcat took one “chill” look at him before quietly heading into the woods.
Cherlet was able to get a video of the event. He emailed it to his friends in Vancouver, many of whom didn’t believe the encounter before viewing the footage.
Last May, Squamish conservation officers were forced to shoot and kill a bobcat near Alice Lake Provincial Park after it repeatedly attacked dogs, including dogs on-leash. One of the encounters with the bobcat took place along the Mashiter Trail, just north of Glacier View and Thunderbird.
The uncharacteristic behaviour raised alarm bells with conservation officers. Many bobcats live between Garibaldi Highlands and Alice Lake; however, the male was making his presence known, Cst. Simon Gravel told The Squamish Chief at the time.
“We never like to have to destroy the animals,” he said. “We do believe there was a bit of an unusual behaviour displayed.”
There is a healthy community of wildlife in the region, Gravel said. That includes bobcats and cougars, he noted. As a result, in forested areas dogs should be on leash. If you come across a bobcat, face it, make yourself big and be loud, he noted. Any sighting should be reported to the conservation service by calling 1-877-952-7277.
