COUGAR SEASON
Our unusually dry spring linked to a dramatic spike in sightings across B.C.
An unusually dry spring has been linked to a dramatic spike in cougar sightings across B.C.
According to latest Ministry of Environment statistics, there were 389 reported sightings in May 2015 compared with an average of 221 for May over the previous four years.
For April, the figure was 242 sightings, compared with the April average of 158.
In Metro Vancouver alone, there have been 99 reports to wildlife officials since April, compared to 126 for all last year.
“It’s up pretty high,” said conservation officer Todd Hunter, who works in the North Vancouver area.
“Summer is the busiest time, especially for cougars and especially during hot, dry periods.”
It has been very dry this year, with only four millimetres of rain in May. The average for the month is 65 mm.
B.C.’s South Coast already has a healthy population of cougars because of an increase in the deer population in recent years, Hunter said, and the big cats’ habitat is being reduced by encroaching development.
The unseasonably hot and dry weather causes the scent of deer to dissipate faster, making cougars more likely to turn to smaller prey such as domestic pets, and conservation officers are urging people to take precautions.
“Don’t leave your domestic animals out unattended or let them wander around, especially if you are near a greenbelt or wooded area,” Hunter said.
In a recent cougar attack, a resident on Highland Boulevard in North Vancouver reported spotting a cougar preying on a house cat in a tree in a back yard just after midnight.
Hunter attended and found cougar claw marks on the tree bark, but did not see the animal.
Three hours later, he received another call. The cougar had come back and killed two raccoons in the yard.
Officers tracked the big cat the next day and shot it.
Some people decried the shooting, Hunter said, but given its habits and the location of its hunting grounds near homes, “public safety prevailed in this situation.”
“We respond when animals lie in wait, stalking, pursuing and making kills of domestic animals or are a danger to the public,” he said.
“What was alarming to me was the cougar did a back-to-back kill right after I left.”
Earlier this month, Mounties shot a cougar after it killed a dog at a home near the UBC Research Forest in Maple Ridge.
And in May, conservation officers killed a cougar after it was spotted prowling balconies and patios in West Vancouver’s Lower Capilano neighbourhood.
Not all reported sightings turn out to be cougar incidents because some people can mistake bobcats and coyotes for cougars.
And despite the high number of reports, cougar attacks on humans are rare, Hunter said.
But people should still exercise caution during the summer months, he noted, especially if they live near wooded areas or are out in the backcountry or on trails with pets and small children.