The Conservation Officer Service was quickly able to track a hungry cougar that was prowling near the entrance of the Tsaxana reserve near Gold River June 17, but not before the cat provided some worrying moments to area parents.
Jackie Jack had come upon the cougar when she was driving home yesterday afternoon. She saw something in the middle of the road. She drove toward it, just to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing, and, sure enough, it was a cat.
It just sauntered off, she told Ha-Shilth-Sa. “It wasn’t spooked or scared.”
It was the first time her son Zander had seen a cougar in the wild, even though they live in cougar country, and he was able to take a photo of it as it disappeared into the bush near the community wood pile.
Jackie pulled over to talk with another family that was near the area to let them know there was a cougar in the vicinity. Jimmy Johnson was able to take some video and then went to Jackie’s home to call the RCMP, which in turn called Conservation. The Nootka RCMP monitored the area until Conservation arrived.
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Conservation Officer Gord Gudbranson of North Island Zone came out with a cougar houndsman and two dogs from the Black Creek office and tracked the emaciated one-year-old male cougar. The dogs treed it near the Gold River and it was shot.
Jamie Jack was down by the river at one of his favorite fishing spots when he heard the cougar hounds getting closer. A little while later, the conservation officer and houndsman came out of the bush, he told Ha-Shilth-Sa, “about 50 to 75 meters away from where I was fishing… must have been watching me and my two dogs for a little while.” Jamie said it was pretty scary thinking the cougar had him in his sights, “but I had my two dogs and two knives with me.”
The dogs may have been what had interested the hungry cougar in the first place, speculated Gudbranson, though it’s hard to say. One was a large dog, but the other was smaller. Natural food sources for cougars are deer, raccoons and cotton-tailed rabbits, he said, but when that food source is scarce, it will look for any furry creature for a meal.
Once the cougar was euthanized, community members gathered to take a look, and the children were taught some cougar safety basics. Maintain eye contact, if you encounter a cougar. Face it and make yourself square to it. If it moves around you, move your body around with it, not just your neck. Slowly back away from it while talking to the cougar. If it makes a move towards you, act aggressively by showing your teeth and making yourself look big and if it keeps coming throw things at it, stand on something like a stump to make yourself look large and further up the food chain. And if it attacks, fight with all your might, hitting it in the eye or the nose where it is sensitive.
If you know there are cougars in the area, and the Tsaxana area is a natural corridor for wildlife, monitor kids and pets. Keep them out of the green belt, and make sure an adult is present, said Gudbranson.
Sgt. Mike Newton of the Conservation Officer Service told Ha-Shilth-Sa it’s been a busy year for cougar calls. He wanted our Nuu-chah-nulth communities to remember to call the RAPP number at 1-877-952-7277 to report any conflict with wildlife in the communities. He said the bear calls are also picking up now.
The RAPP number is a 24/7 service, and Newton said call without delay. He said cougar tracking success is dependent on the time delay, as scent quality drops quickly when it’s hot and dry.
Gudbranson said reporting cougar sightings helps conservation to monitor the activities of the animals and assess and determine their response to the animal if it becomes a danger to humans.
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