The juvenile cougar destroyed in Goldstream Park campground Monday wasnB次元官网网址檛 likely the same one seen in the Happy Valley area of Langford three days earlier.
Conservation officer Peter Pauwels, who shot the wildcat in the park, said it had no interest in moving from where it was repeatedly sighted, down a hill from campsite number 76, near Upper Goldstream Trail.
B次元官网网址淚 went there twice and both times it was just standing there,B次元官网网址� Pauwels said, noting the cougar approached some campers, but wasnB次元官网网址檛 aggressive.
B次元官网网址淭hey threw stones at it to try to scare it off, but it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 leave,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very unusual behaviour. Usually cougars have an avoidance, if not an outright fear, of people.B次元官网网址�
Campers reported seeing the cougar in the same spot Saturday and Sunday. Pauwels came out to have a look Sunday night, and returned Monday at 6:30 a.m. to kill it.
Pauwels had no idea why the cat was hanging around.
B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 find any evidence that it had a kill nearby,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t could have been hunting raccoons. ItB次元官网网址檚 impossible to know for sure.B次元官网网址�
He said because the cat was so young, only 18-months old, and already very habituated to humans, it wasnB次元官网网址檛 a candidate for relocation.
B次元官网网址淲e understand people are upset when an animal is killed,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 like to see the cougars co-exist with us as much as possible. But this one would have continued to be a problem.B次元官网网址�
Cougar sightings reported from south Island have doubled this year over last. There have been 200 called into the Ministry of Environment hotline since April.
Last month a cougar was shot after strolling down Beacon Avenue in downtown Sidney. More recently, conservation officers hunted unsuccessfully for a wildcat that bit the skull of a toddler in Pacific Rim National Park.
Pauwels said he doesnB次元官网网址檛 respond to every call he receives, and thereB次元官网网址檚 no need to report a cougar if itB次元官网网址檚 acting normally or somewhere you would expect to see one.
The hotline number is 1-800-663-9453.
news@goldstreamgazette.com
