2 cougars euthanized, 1 still at large in Kamloops area after eating pets
Two cougars have been euthanized in Kamloops and Conservation Officers are searching for another one after the big cats have been killing pets.
Resident Loren Hebden Phillips lives in the Westsyde neighbourhood, on the edge of Lac Du Bois Grassland, near the popular Deep Lake Hike trails.
“There are three cougars working together,” she said. “Last week one of them ate my neighbour’s family dog and they are devastated. That cougar was put down by the conservation service.”
READ MORE: Kamloops couple has close encounter with pair of cougars
Yesterday, Nov. 12, Phillips phoned the Conservation Officer Service when she saw a cougar close to her property lying under a fallen structure staring her down after she finished taking her dogs out to do their business.
She watched though her back window as an officer came out and shot the cat before going over the hill following reports of the third cat in the trio being spotted.
“(Conservation Officers) set up cameras last night and left the cougar carcass there and the bird carcasses one of the cats killed in a neighbour’s coup yesterday,” she said. “It is my understanding (officers) are coming back today with hounds to track down the third one.”
Phillips said this month her neighbours have lost chickens, ducks, a bunny and a dog to the cougars.
READ MORE: Cougar spotted in several Kelowna neighbourhoods
“People need to be warned so they can make sure their pets and kids are safe,” she said. “I will be driving my son to school and back until I know it is safe for him to walk there.”
Phillips said her neighbour two doors down also called Conservation Officers yesterday when a cougar broke into her chicken pen and got stuck. The big cat, who ate her ducks a few days ago, ate her chickens and found its way out of the pen before an officer arrived.
“An officer told me this is unusual behaviour for cougars to be so close to people without even flinching,” she said.
“The three of them have been problem cougars for a while, working together. It is believed it is either a mother and two adolescents or three adolescents.”
Phillips said she was informed by a Conservation Officer a sign would be put up at the nearby Deep Lake Hike trailhead warning hikers to stay out of the area for now but is unclear whether it has been put up yet.
Cougars account for approximately 2,500 calls to the Conservation Officer Service reporting line every year, however many reported cougar sightings turn out to be animals other than cougars, according to WildSafeB.C.
Cougar attacks are very rare, but if residents encounter a cougar, they should keep calm and never run, according to WildSafe.
To report cougars in conflict, sightings in urban areas, or a cougar showing unusual or aggressive behaviour, call the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.
The Conservation Officer Service did not return a request for comment Sunday afternoon, Nov. 13.
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