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December 09, 2019 - 1:24 PM
Penticton pet owners are being advised to ensure their animals are on a leash and be wary in the city’s fringe areas where deer might populate following a pair of incidents with cougars on the weekend.
The Conservation Officer Service responded to two incidents involving cougars on the weekend, according to local officer Clayton Debruin.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, around 2 p.m., Debruin says a person was walking on a trail in the Evergreen Drive area with an off-leash dog when the animal was attacked by a cougar.
The dog was mauled in the attack but the person and their pet were able to make it back to their vehicle in spite of being stalked by the cougar for nearly a kilometre.
Then on Sunday, officers were called to a Green Avenue address around noon, where a juvenile cougar was found hiding under a recreational vehicle. The cougar was feeding on a house cat and had taken risks to get to that particular location, Debruin says.
“In the interest of public safety, it was tranquillized on-site and later euthanized,” Debruin says.
He says cougars rarely attack humans but pet owners need to be vigilant when walking their animals in the city’s fringe areas where deer congregate.
“Keep dogs on a leash. If you encounter a cougar, maintain an assertive posture and make a lot of noise. Maintain visual contact with the cougar,” Debruin says.
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