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Kelowna News

Cougar shot in Kelowna neighbourhood

This is the view of the area the cougar likely came down from as he was hunting house pets.
Image Credit: SOURCE/Google Street View

UPDATE: 12:50 p.m. July 6, 2013

KELOWNA - A cougar was shot and killed in Rutland’s Black Mountain neighbourhood by a BC Conservation Officer early Saturday morning.

It’s believed the cat had been hunting family pets at night and was stranded in the rural-urban interface area when the sun came up.

The officer shot the cougar in a tree, in the backyard of a home on Shauna Road, south of the Black Mountain Golf Course and north of Highway 33.

“The cat was destroyed in the interest of public safety given the number of residential homes in the area, small children and pets,” says Sgt. Josh Lockwood with the BC Conservation Service.

There had been complaints of dogs going missing in the area and a cougar was suspected but no one had ever seen it. Lockwood says about a week ago hikers in the area spotted a cougar protecting a deer kill in that area.

“The cougar was a male, about 100 lbs,” says Lockwood. “It had a previous wound on its face and ear area.”

Lockwood isn’t sure if someone had taken a shot at the cat or if it had been wounded in a fight with another cougar.

A necropsy found the cougar’s stomach was empty but it didn’t appear to be starving. It was in pretty good shape.

“Due to the injury, or because it had been run out of its hunting area by another cat, it was down hunting house pets. Easy prey.”

Lockwood says that area of Black Mountain is not the kind of terrain you’d typically see cougars in. It’s not heavily treed. The bottom of the hillside is pretty much all grass and sage brush. Cougars like areas with lots of trees, dense underbrush or rocks so they can come and go without detection.

So what do you do when you come across a cougar in the great outdoors?

Lockwood say the general rules are back away or change your direction to stay out of harms way. Make yourself as large as possible.

When you’re hiking in cougar habitat, make lots of noise so you don’t surprise a cat. It’s usually a surprised animal that can be dangerous.

To contact the reporter for this story email halexander@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 491-0331.

This is the part of Kelowna in which a cougar was shot and killed in a backyard early Saturday morning.
This is the part of Kelowna in which a cougar was shot and killed in a backyard early Saturday morning.
Image Credit: SOURCE/Google Maps

 

12:12 p.m. July 6, 2013

KELOWNA - Conservation officers shot and killed a cougar in the Rutland early this morning.

Conservation officer Sgt. Josh Lockwood thinks the cat was hunting deer last night and was caught in the rural-urban interface area in Black Mountain.

At around 6:30 a.m. residents on Shauna Road called the RCMP who then called the Conservation Service.

Lockwood says the cougar was in a tree in the residents' yard.

More details are on their way.

To contact the reporter for this story email halexander@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 491-0331.

Kelowna conservation officers put down a cougar in Black Mountain backyard Saturday morning.
Kelowna conservation officers put down a cougar in Black Mountain backyard Saturday morning.
Image Credit: SOURCE/istockphoto.com
News from © iNFOnews, 2013
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