COUGAR EUTHANIZED
UPDATE Thursday February 8th, 2012I just spoke with the Sunshine Coast Conservation Officer Murray Smith who kindly took some time out to talk with me over the phone.
He confirmed a cougar cub was captured in a bear trap near the Roberts Creek Provincial Park Campground and was euthanized by gun shot. It was not a decision made lightly.
Further he commented it was a beautiful cougar about the size of a dog and relocating was not an option as the cub lacked hunting skills and was living off human wares attacking rabbit cages, cats, chickens and would not leave the urban area.
Whereas bears can be rehabilitated, cougars on the other hand associate rehab as food handouts from humans perpetuating the problem.
The cougar cub could have been taken to a remote area of the coast he said but would have slowly starved to death.
To let it continue to prowl urban areas was a danger to young children, often targeted by cougars for their small stature.
Murray believes there might possibly be two young cougars in the area and he could not say the one euthanized is the same one in these photos taken by the Martin family.
He said that they just can’t take the chance that a child would be attacked so euthanizing was the most humane approach compared to letting it starve to death in the wilderness.
In the last 7 years there have been 95 calls to the Conservation Officer about cougars on the Sunshine Coast and only 5 destroyed.
We talked about the critical need for wildlife corridors to be included in urban planning so we don’t keep having these problems. And how people need to do their part, like not attracting bears with garbage.
As I always rant on about… we all want to live by the forest but we have to chop it down to live there, then complain that deer and bears show up in our yards.
Cougars are a fact of life on the Sunshine Coast and Murray said the best thing to do if you encounter one is to make yourself big, raise your hands up, talk aggressively, be intimidating and back up slowly.
Young children should also be kept close to their parents.
If you have something to throw as a diversion, like a jacket or knapsack, do so, and come back later to pick it up. He also said its always a good idea to make noise in the wilderness so you are not surprising wildlife like bears. An example would be bells on your dogs collar.
Sad to hear the cougar cub was put down, always hate to see that. We need to find better ways to live with wildlife and nature as its essential to our own well being.
Talking to Murray about it made me feel it was a very difficult but correct decision to make considering the circumstances.
Appreciate he took the time to call and explain what went down.
What do you think?
A Davis Bay BC family was in for quite a shock when a young cougar cub snuck up on their glass sliding doors when it spotted the family cat.
Family cat goes nose to nose with a cougar cub, possibly lost & inexperienced. Photos courtesy Luke Martin.
Luke Martin who attends Elphinstone Secondary School in Gibson on the Sunshine Coast BC Canada saw what he thought was just a “big cat” but quickly recognized it as a cougar from his hunting experience with his dad.
He says he wasn’t “scared” at all as the families sliding glass door separated the cougar from them.
Using his iPhone he got these incredible photos of the cat prowling their family balcony.
The cougar was attracted to their family cat “Pozer.”
Pozer being a brave 19 year old tabby didn’t shy away and went right up to the sliding glass doors.
His dad Bob Martin told me the cougar began “smashing itself against the sliding glass doors trying to get into the house, banging itself against the door.”
The family tried to “scare” the cougar away for over 15 minutes but it just “laid its head against the door” and later Bob said, “chewed” up his wife’s shoes.
Bob says he tried to call the conservation officer but got no response and eventually called 911 and got out his shot gun.
Bob writes “There was no intention of shooting anything! Unless it broke through the glass and it did eventually leave with a larger cat. Most hunters i KNOW respect and support conservation more then the average person.Without the revenue from licenceing there would be no conservation. Just a thought.”
Luke’s dad thought something was up when the garbage cans were raided last week and they heard a lot of noise. He says there are “2 cougars” in Davis Creek.
He added the cougar hung around for about 25 minutes at the families doorstep.
Davis Bay on the Sunshine Coast BC Canada borders on wilderness rain forests, mountains and Chapman Creek watershed, the communities source for clean drinking water.
Local Sechelt Nation resident Cindy L August posted on my facebook profile “we have a cougar that has been seen by many band members down here in Porpoise Bay at the soccer field and even right by our home and is full grown and we’ve phoned and nothing has been done about it, we have a lot of kids down here playing and it worries me to see and here this.
My daughter saw it one night when she was coming home from St. Mary’s Hospital and the cougar was heading down towards the reserve, she thought it was a coyote, but when she got closer she saw what is was. Lucky she was driving in my car, thank god, don’t know what would of happened.”
- Pozer on CTV NEWS
Why the young cougar cub came so close to an urban area is unknown?
I suspect that it might be inexperience, bravado, lost its mom or there just is not enough wildlife corridors on the coast, a loss of habitat and sustainable food for wildlife.
What do you think?
Aurelia Cardiff commented on my facebook profile “It’s probably a starved cub, without a mom anymore, to dare coming so close to humans. It’ is always the same problem: humans encroaching on wildlife habitat. It becomes easy for wildlife to find food near humans (our garbages, our pets or children!…), they learn to come closer, they are not afraid of us anymore and become dangerous and then ultimately are shot! Who is creating the issue here?!”
Kerry James posted “It its worrying and you must be as careful as you can be for life, but we cant go killing the cougars if that’s what you’re thinking, moved into the deeper wild, sure, but kill them off is just wrong. They’re beautiful majestic creatures that have long earned there right on these lands which are their own. They were here before us.”
I don’t know about you but I would have crapped my pants! LOL
I hope these cougars are relocated and not killed. AND something is done to replace all the habit they have lost so they can sustain themselves in the forest without having to come to urban areas. We share this Earth and we are this earth!
Many thanks to Luke and his family for letting me share these incredible photos with you!
CTV NEWS
Jan 19th, 2012.
I sent this story out to the major national media and CTV NEWS met with the family to do a full story. Bob tells me they had a “great” interview with the crew.
Jan 20th, 2012
WOW! 2,283 views in one day of the family cat “whisker to whisker” with a cougar cub! Great coverage by CTV British Columbia They also aired the segment on their morning news today, afternoon news, and again the evening news at 5pm and 6pm again tonight.
Maggie Guzzi posted on my website “Hi Duane the cougar is right outside my door i yelled at it and blew a whistle and it came toward me and i slammed the door now we are trapped , don’t know what to do!”
I told her to call 911 now.
Misty Mist writes on the Sunshine Coast BC Canada facebook page “i had one big one run in front of my jeep on my way home 2 days ago by sandy hook it was huge”
Ashleigh Tuhkala, Co-Owner/Manager at Valour Farms – Equestrian Gifts & Equipment in Gibsons, BC, writes “Conservation officers up here are USELESS!! In 2006 we had two baby horses get their faces slashed open (one had the nose of her skull exposed) and numerous sightings around our arena at that time.
I called Conservation, and the dispatch lady was a rude cow asking me if I saw any ‘crap’ out in the pasture, and nobody ever showed up!! Three weeks later they pulled into our yard because someone we knew had told them about our horses getting attacked by something, (perfect timing .. i was just about to clean the nasty wounds) but by then it was too late to do anything.
They’re a couple posers who drive around in their truck, wearing their uniforms and it’s a joke. There are SO many times they’ve failed the coast’s residents and wildlife.”
As I update this today, Jan 22, 2012… there have been 3,212 views of the article…
Jan 23rd Jeffrey Paleczny commented on your link. “Yo! My friend in Wilson Creek saw the young cougar this weekend! It was at a farm stand. He went to buy eggs and his dog scared it from under the farm stand floor and treed it. Was smaller size cougar and didn’t seem that scared. They then had a stare down with it in the tree.”
WATCH CTV NEWS segment… CLICK HERE to go to their site!
Update Friday Feb 10th, 2012
Happened upon this video of a cougar swimming up the Sechelt Inlet on youtube!
Cougar swimming filmed by Greg Gray from High Tide Water Taxi based in Egmont. Cougar was spotted crossing near Clowholm in Salmon Inlet (south arm of Sechelt Inlet) in South Western British Columbia
It’s Always A Good Day on the Sunshine Coast! : D Duane Burnett
looked very young…maybe lost its mom….
dont shoot it!
but yes no consevation around now..gotta wait a day or so for them to arrive via ferry, i think. im not sure they even relocate anymore, cause of cutbacks….
very sad..your lucky you got to see that baby cat.
Leave the cougar alone! Young cougars don’t know what they are doing. It probably lost its mother who would not let it get so close to people. They need to learn like any other young creature. Shooting a cougar cub is equivalent to clubbing a baby seal. Give it a chance. It only has a 50% chance of living even if its left alone.
I feel very sorry for this baby cougar,it is starving!!!!!!
Were is its Mom??Killed by hunters???
The cubs stay around 2 years with their mom, she can teach them, how to hunt,and stay away from humans,they kill and destroy habitat,and the wildlife within.
Did these people kill this baby????Hope not.Phoning the conservation officer, is of no use,unless they are willing to capture the baby,and bring it to a Wildlife rehab centre,after recovering, they can release it back into the wild.
If this family cares,they take this action,to save the cub.how about asking Gibsons wildlife rehab centre,if they know of such a place???
This cougar kitten is obviously in distress, otherwise it would not be on its own unless the mother was nearby but unseen (a distinct possibilty). The mother may be looking for easy prey if food is scarce, or if she is injured or sick. If the kitten is seen repeatedly on its own over the next few days and the mother is not in the vicinity, a live trap should be set for it, so that it can be sent to a suitable Wildlife Rehab facility. Although our Wildlife Permit does not authorize us to take in ‘dangerous’ wildlife, we would be more than willing to assist the local Conservation Officers to ensure the safe capture and transportation of this kitten to a suitable wildlife rehab facility. There is no reason that it should be killed. Residents in the area should ensure that they DO NOT let their pets or young children outside until this situation is resolved, and the area is deemed safe.
Really people? Does this young man look like he was going to kill the cougar cub? Give him a little credit, this was a unique experience he was excited to shared with us.
I agree that this young cougar should be monitored and receive some help if need be. If it is without its mother then it will need assitance to survive until it is old enough to be on its own. As dangerous as they can be, they are a beautiful and majestic animal that must be respected.
I also agree that people should not jump the gun (no pun intended) and presume to know what the family who witnessed this cougar intended to do in regards to shooting it. If I owned a gun (which I do not)and if I had a cougar banging on my front door with my children inside I would have grabbed my gun also as a safety precaution. I love animals, but Ilove my children more. Besides, no one said that the cougar was shot, only that the family grabbed their gun. And just because someone may have a back ground in hunting does not mean that they disregard the life of animals. I think it is unfair that this family has any judgment spoken in this blog from a community of people who were not present at the time and have no real idea of what the situation was like.
There was no intention of shooting anything ! unless it broke through the glass and it did eventually leave with a larger cat.Most hunters i KNOW respect and support conservation more then the average person.Without the revenue from licenceing there would be no conservation.Just a thought. Bob Martin
I do not like the thought of it being shot, but I would be concerned that if it finds garbage to eat, or is able to possiby get at a child or family pet, it will stay around the area.
It shoud be caught, cared for until it is old enough, then released into the wild in a remote area away from its present haunts.
I live on the lower rd in the creek close to the legion. Opened my front door a a little couger walked right past me looked back at me then took off for the bush. I hope the mom is not around for our dogs sake. Jan 24th
Pretty cool story. Way to go Luke!!
I fail to see why it would be a surprise to some that this cat would be there. The Urban interface is also habitat even though it is not natural habitat. I see more deer (main prey) in the Urban interface than anywhere else on the coast. Cougars follow the deer.
The small cat was quite likely being playful with the domestic cat- (not to say he wouldn’t decide to eat it later). They said it left with a bigger cat so I would assume that to be the mother. The best thing we can do is to ensure no food sources are left out to attract them and not harm them unless they try to harm us.
They are majestic and beautiful creatures- worthy of our respect and worth a bit of trouble on our part to ensure they can co-exist with us.
Bob and Luke’s response was measured and appropriate. Well done!!!