Cougar killed in Calgary near golf course

Wildlife officer shot cat deemed a threat to public

CALGARY A wildlife officer shot and killed a cougar Wednesday morning near Willow Park golf course after it was deemed a threat to the public.

At about 9:25 a.m., Calgary Fish and Wildlife received a call that the animal was in the Bonaventure area in the city’s southeast.

The cougar had reportedly chased a person, who ducked into a nearby strip mall, said Ron Wiebe, inspector for Calgary Fish and Wildlife enforcement.

The cougar approached to within six metres of two police officers before veering off toward Willow Park golf course.

Police cleared the golf course, asking people who lived nearby to stay inside their homes.

Construction workers saw the cougar in a yard on Willow Ridge Place S.E. next to the golf course, where it was euthanized by the wildlife officer.

Wiebe said tranquilizing the animal was not an option because it was a threat to the public and officers.

“Although we try to manage and help preserve wildlife, we have to consider public safety,” he said.

“It was considered a threat to the public and, at times, immobilizing a cougar creates an adrenalin rush, at which point the cougar can become more aggressive, more assertive or try to escape.”

In September 2014, a wildlife officer from Fish and Wildlife shot and killed a cougar near Calgary’s South Health Campus.

A report from Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, which is responsible for Fish and Wildlife, said attempts to tranquilize the animal failed, and it had to be shot.

There was public criticism over the cougar’s death, but the review said the action was justified — that euthanizing the cougar was “the most appropriate response to ensure public safety, particularly in an urban area.”