James Bay Community School was on alert this morning after reports of a cougar sighting in the area.

No further glimpses of the cougar were reported after it was initially spotted about 10 a.m. near Montreal Street and Simcoe Avenue, police said.

Principal Elaine McVie said approximately 180 kindergarten-Grade 5 students at the school were kept indoors at lunchtime as a precaution.

“The district has a safety protocol and we were in touch with our police liaison officer frequently,” she said. “It’s all about keeping the kids safe.”

Parents were contacted via the school’s computer call-out system.

It’s not the first time a cougar sighting has been reported in James Bay. Going back to 1989, a young woman was in her James Bay basement suite when a cougar jumped through the window. She hid in the closet before pursuing animal-control officers arrived and had to shoot the animal.

In 1992, a cougar wandered into the parkade at the Fairmont Empress Hotel and was eventually tranquilized. And in James Bay in 1998 a wandering cougar walked through an open door at Scott Plastics in James Bay.

That cougar was also tranquilized.

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