Three young cougars killed

Conservation officer says animals showed ‘no natural fear or respect’ of people; mother is still on the loose

Three juvenile cougars were euthanized Tuesday in Penticton after conservation officers grew concerned about their increasingly brazen behaviour, but a local animal rights activist is questioning the decision not to try relocating the cats first.

“It’s not something we like to do, but we’ve got a dual mandate: We’ve got the protection of our wildlife resources and we’ve got the protection of the public,” said Sgt. Jim Beck of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.

“And, at present, we do not have a shortage of cougars.”

The three juveniles and their mother were the subject of a public warning last week when they were spotted near two schools and photographed under the deck of a home on the east side of Penticton — where they’d been feasting on urban deer.

Conservation officers tried encouraging the animals to head back to the wild by making noise and digging up their kills, but to no avail.

Over the weekend, Beck continued, the mother “made a play” on a family dog and killed a deer in another family’s yard, and on Monday took down a bighorn sheep on a walking trail at the top of Forestbrook Drive.

“It’s all behaviour that’s not consistent with wild cougars. Cougars are generally very secretive and reclusive, and (the mother) wasn’t displaying any of those characteristics,” said Beck.

“She’s become habituated to people, and showing no natural fear or respect for being seen by people or being in close proximity to people.”

Worried the cougar’s offspring, believed to be between 12 and 18 months of age, were also becoming habituated, conservation officers on Tuesday morning treed all four cats and dispatched the three juveniles. The mother got away.

“She bailed on us just before we did anything with her and took off. We’re actively looking for her. We’re hopeful that she will relocate out of the area and that will be the end of it, but if she returns then we’ll be actively pursuing her as well,” said Beck.

Deborah Silk believes conservation officers were too quick to pull the trigger.

“I understand their reasoning because the cougars were living amongst humans and I’m sure they weighed out all of the odds,” said the now-retired founder of the Critteraid animal rescue group.

“However, it would have been nice to make a concerted effort to tranquilize them and relocate them. From all accounts, she was a very good and providing mother and I can’t imagine her grieving.”

Beck said he considered trapping and moving the cats, but believes they would have wandered right back to take advantage of the easy pickings to which they’ve become accustomed in populated areas.

“Plus, where do we put her? We’re in the middle of the winter months, the snow load is extremely deep up above, our deer population — wild as well as urban — are down in the valley bottoms and that’s also where we choose to live, so we can’t really move her anywhere where there’s not development,” he explained.

Beck said sightings of the cougars began in August and spanned from Naramata to Heritage Hills, although they were more recently concentrated in the Carmi neighbourhood between Ellis and Penticton creeks. He advised people in that area to be cautious and avoid bush trails for now.

Anyone who sees the cougar or spots a fresh kill should report it by calling 1-877-952-7277.