A cougar attack on a field of livestock in central Powell River over the long weekend is a reminder that such incidents can happen anywhere, even in one’s own backyard.
Westview resident Sue Cummings knows this all too well. She lost 17 sheep in two separate attacks that occurred on her Westview Avenue property in the early morning hours of Friday, August 3 and Sunday, August 5 and is now urging the public to keep a watchful eye on pets and livestock.
Cummings woke up on Friday, surveyed her field and could only locate nine of 17 animals. She began looking for the rest, believing initially that some may have escaped. As her search continued, however, she began to realize that something may be wrong. “I had a horrible feeling of doom,” she said. “Something just didn’t feel right and I could see a lot of ravens. I went into the two big fields and sure enough, there were eight bodies.”
Teeth marks have confirmed the work of a cougar, or perhaps several according to BC conservation officer Gerry Lister. “From my observation of what occurred there, I’d tend to think it was a family unit, like a mother with two, maybe even three, young ones teaching them how to hunt more so than actually looking for food,” he said.
“One of the ones that was killed Sunday morning was eviscerated and had the entrails eaten out of it,” said Lister. “That’s classic cougar indications. And it was dragged to the fence line. Generally what they’ll do is drag them to the fence line and try and get them over the fence and then they’ll drag them off somewhere where they can cache them to come back later.”
With a conservation officer from Sechelt on site overnight on Friday setting traps following an initial call by Cummings, the cougars were likely stymied from returning to pick up their kill of eight, which they had dragged toward the perimeter of the property. By the time Sunday rolled around, the meat likely wasn’t as appetizing and Lister said he believed the second kill of nine was simply cougars on a quest for freshness.
“When you’ve got the opportunity as a cougar to come back and get fresh meat as opposed to something that’s two days old, you’re going to go for the fresh stuff,” he said.
For Cummings, not only has a portion of her livelihood been destroyed, but also her feeling of safety on her property. “All I have left now are my three pigmy goats,” she said. “All of the sheep are dead and if this thing’s still on the loose it’s very bad news. I live on Westview Avenue. There’s kids and adults walking dogs everywhere.”
While it is not uncommon for cougars and other predators of livestock to hunt or kill animals on farms or even in backyards, such incidents typically take place away from residential areas. However, Lister said that nearby residents should remain attentive but not scared.
“If there’s a cougar around and it’s killing livestock people automatically assume that it’s a public safety concern and it’s not necessarily the case,” he explained. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that people are in danger.
“All I’d recommend to people is just be aware that there is a cougar or cougars cruising around that area of Westview, Ladner [Street], Nootka [Street], and just be watchful of their pets and watchful of their livestock.”
Lister said that traps and night-vision cameras would remain on site until Wednesday. So far, they have yielded no sign of the cougar or cougars.
