One or more cougars have been active in Greater Victoria in the last week, with the latest sighting in Central Saanich following reports in Saanich last week.
Central Saanich Police issued a warning of two cougar sightings — one on Monday night and another Tuesday morning. The sightings took place around the Keating Cross Road-Kirkpatrick Crescent and Mt. Newton Cross Road-Central Saanich Road areas.
Neighbours near Bow Park in Saanich have kept their eyes open and their pets indoors after a sighting of a cougar in their quiet residential neighbourhood last week.
Saanich police issued an alert and the B.C Conservation Service attended the scene, placing a warning placard at the entrance to the park to warn residents of the area.
Christine Holding, whose property backs onto Bow Park, said she plans to keep her small dog indoors after hearing of the cougar sighting.
She said there was another sighting about two years ago, although she has not seen any cougars in the four and a half years she has lived in the neighbourhood.
“We get lots of wildlife in the neighbourhood, with plenty of deer, ducks in the park’s pond and lots of rats.”
Handwritten signs were also posted off Blenkinsop Road near the Cedar Hill Golf Course warning of a cougar sighting the morning of Aug. 26.
There is a possibility it’s the same big cat traversing the region, said Peter Pauwels, a conservation officer with the B.C. Conservation Service.
While cougars are nocturnal animals, sightings are more common in the summer because there are more daylight hours, said Pauwels, who notes that up to 90 per cent of cougar sightings occur at dusk and dawn. “If you see one in the day, it is probably that they have been disturbed in their resting place and are attempting to find another place to lay low.”
Cougars will enter an area looking for food and a neighbourhood known to have deer will attract the big cats.
The B.C Conservation Service offers these guidelines in the event that you encounter a cougar:
• Stay calm and keep the cougar in view. Make yourself look as large as possible. Never run or turn your back on a cougar. Back away slowly, ensuring that the animal has a clear avenue of escape. Avoid sudden movements.
• If you are with a child, pick them up immediately. Children frighten easily and the noise and movements they make could provoke an attack.
• If a cougar shows interest or follows you, respond aggressively, maintain eye contact with the cougar, show your teeth and make a loud noise. Arm yourself with rocks or sticks as weapons.
• If a cougar attacks, fight back, convince the cougar you are a threat and not prey. Focus your attack on the cougar’s face and eyes.
While some animals can be sedated and relocated to more remote locations, others, like a young male discovered at Edward Milne Community School in Sooke in February, have to be euthanized because they behave aggressively around humans and pets.
For more information, go to gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/wildlife/human-wildlife-conflict/staying-safe-around-wildlife.
parrais@timescolonist.com
