Cougar discovered inside a home, chewing on a dog toy
VERNON – It wasn’t a 911 call anyone would ever expect to make.
“There’s a cougar in my house chewing on a squeaky toy,” says a Westside Road resident who asked to be referred to only by her first name, Verena. “The police initially thought I might be hallucinating.”
Verena, 53, just returned home from a hike with her three Scottish Deer hounds, Luna, Hermione and Eos around 9 a.m. June 20. She came down the potholed, dirt road and past a sign warning of a recent cougar sighting in Westshore Estates. Having lived and hiked in the area for 14 years, she knew to carry a bear bell and bear spray. She never thought the wildlife she protected herself from would be in her own home.
“Luna went in the house through the dog door and started barking like a maniac,” she says. “I opened the door and saw a cougar on the living room carpet, just a few feet from me, biting down on a dog toy.”
Having worked at an animal shelter, her instincts kicked in right away. She retreated to the safety of her van and called off her dogs.
The cougar growled as it retreated further inside the house, the squeaky dog toy (a sheep) clutched in her mouth.
“I didn’t opt to take a second look. I left my property in the van and tried to inform my neighbours,” she says.
She told a confused 911 dispatcher what happened, and waited for the Conservation Service and RCMP.
When conservation officers arrived, they barricaded the dog door so the cougar couldn’t escape and entered the two-storey house. They couldn’t find the cougar.
“They went back a second time and she was hiding in a dark corner between the washer and freezer. She still had the squeaky toy,” Verena says.
Conservation officers prepared a tranquilizer dart and attempted to sedate the cougar.
“I love the way they approached her. They were quiet and respectful, they didn’t chase or aggravate her,” Verena says.
Eventually, the officers managed to hook a catch pole around the cougar’s neck and sedated it. Conservation officers say the cougar couldn't be relocated now that it had entered a home and posed danger to residents. They killed it.
The cougar was a year-old female in poor condition, not the same cougar that was spotted in Westshore Estates. She’d likely been separated from her mother, as cougars typically stay with their mothers until they reach a year-and-a-half. The cougar likely entered the house through the dog door, possibly chasing one of Verena's cats.
“In the end my heart went out for the cougar,” Verena says. “She has lost her mother, been fighting for her life, in her desperation she finds her way into a place she’s not supposed to be and she lost her life because of that.”
She’s seen cougar tracks in the back country and spotted one once, but never up close.
“I have high respect for them, but they’re also the one animal I want to meet least of all.”
She doesn’t plan on blocking up her dog door, but will leave the radio on when she’s gone to ward off wildlife. She’s heartbroken at the death of such a beautiful animal, but understands conservation’s choice to euthanize it.
“She was miserable, starving slowly. In her desperation she risked her life. I think she’s in a better place now than she was in.”
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724
Join the Conversation!
Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community? Create a free account to comment on stories, ask questions, and join meaningful discussions on our new site.
57 responses
-
-
There far more overpopulation problem of people – we have destroyed much of their habitat and then complain about them killing deer – shame on us.
-
Gail Cary Sorry. Thought this was a California town. Shows how much I don’t know about that state. They banned hunting cougars with dogs a few years ago and now they’re having all kinds of problems due to that but the animal right nuts are still screaming in California. Be glad that it’s not being done in British Columbia. Do they allow hunting cougars with dogs there?
-
-
This event took place in Canada not the USA. Animals don’t live in Disneyland they live in the real world where Cougars/Mountain Lions are apex predators & obligate carnivores. What that means is that humans & their pets are on the menu. This unfortunate cougar may have lost its fear/wariness of humans, a recipe for disaster.
-
I don’t think they take wild cougars either. It is almost better than having to spend her life in a cramped cage of a sanctuary. That is no life for a wild born free animal. She doesn’t have the survival skills that her mother would teach her to survive on her own. Sad
-
Sean Ginter I hate to hear the stories of animals suffering.Conservation did a good job on taking care of this sick animal. Animals in nature have horrible deaths.Starvation is likely the worst.
-
Mel Westlake Jr. That is what sanctuaries are for and they are funded by people that care.
-
Michael, I’ve been commenting about harvesting mountain lions being overpopulated and how hunting is an effective wildlife management tool. Am a registered Democrat and an elementary school teacher, active with CTA, and I teach hunter safety classes and outdoor/environmental education. Please don’t assume that all people who support hunting or reducing cougar populations in CA are Tea Partiers. And, this article about a mountain lion in Canada.
-
there was no reason to kill it could have sent it to a sanctuary to help it.if a person gets lost and goes where they don’t belong you going to kill them to.
-
-
I think it is disgusting shame that this cat was killed.There is a water shortage right now.Very bad karma for you to have this cats blood stain your Buddhist carpet.
-
-
Is it not their job to protect/conserve wildlife?Why not take it to a sanctuary?They do exist!
-
-
Brittany Evans , I wish I could “like” your comment a million times over!You said it perfectly!I wish more people would get with the program!
-
Brittany Evans Agree with you, all up to the “25 a day” That is utter rubbish. An extreme exaggeration. Get out your calculator & do the math on that.Prove me wrong, tell which 25 we lost yesterday, which 25 were the day before that. In fact just show me the stats for the supposed 25 species lost on any day you can provide them for. Can you ?
-
-
-
Michael,I’ve been commenting about harvesting mountain lions being overpopulated and how hunting is an effective wildlife management tool.Am a registered Democrat and an elementary school teacher, active with CTA, and I teach hunter safety classes and outdoor/environmental education.Please don’t assume that all people who support hunting or reducing cougar populations in CA are Tea Partiers.And, this article about a mountain lion in Canada.
-
Todd LehmanBesides the lack of money, most of the cat sanctuaries just don’t have any room left to house all of the cougars that well-meaning folks keep wanting to put them in.At this point it comes down to either reducing the numbers for a healthier carrying capacity through proactive, effective, wildlife management tools, like hunting, or as the alternative, have them suffer starvation, disease, and more encounters in the urban areas as they spread out more in order to attempt to find food.
-
-
-
The people who are complaining about the mountain lion being killed, know nothing about managing wildlife. They are only upset because a cute, furry animal was put down. The ban on mountain lion hunting in CA is an example of what happens when the majority of voters are uninformed about proper management and are disconnected from the wildlife. Also, the incident in the article was in Canada…. just sayin :P
-
-
Lets just pay for illegal immigrants to live here instead of taking care care of our animals and ourselves.You must have gotten married to a woman out of some adds.
-
Lets cut off some of the worthless people that live free while everyone else pays.Not going to argue with stupidity!
-
-
-
Mel and Phillip-If you truly understood the critical condition our world was in, you would agree with Cassandra that putting the animal down was a mistake.We should have helped it survive because we NEED to be helping other animals survive right now.Unfortunately, it’s that sort of thinking of putting money before life, that has put our world in the critical condition it is in today, where we are in the 6th mass extinction of this planet. Think about that for a minute- it’s not a question, we are in it, doing it, we as humans are the cause of it… We are losing species at a rate of 25 per day, especially with large animals.Everyone should be focusing on helping our planet no matter what it takes, because it’s our future too.
-
I agree with Cassandra.We need to be doing everything we can to save wildlife on this planet and it’s biodiversity, when we are voluntarily killing large animals that are already having a hard time, it’s only one more nail in the coffin of the human species.This world is not just about us, and we are already in the beginning of the 6th mass extinction of this world.We have gotten ourselves into it because of this type of thinking.. where all other animals are dispensable except humans.. ALL life is valuable and it’s worth fighting for.I really hope more people will start sticking up for the animals of our planet.We need all the help we can get.
-
Mel Westlake Jr.I’ll give money.Watch this.$25.00http://www.wildcatsanctuary.org/donate-now/
-
I find it interesting that every person who commented that the cat needed to be killed and, usually in some smug fashion, are Tea Partiers. Kind of shows their mentality.
-
It’s a sad story without a happy ending.But I agree that there was no choice regarding the outcome.
-
is that all we humans are good for? killing? like wtf! some people should not have the right to carry guns… they are to trigger happy… yeah I said it!
-
-
That is so stupid. They should have brought it to a vet and let them nurse it back to health at least. then release it somewhere far away.
-
In this state, we have people (skilled, private individuals with the proper facilities) who rehab animals with the intention of releasing them when they have recovered. Perhaps they don’t have that sort of thing in Canada. This cougar doesn’t sound like it needed a sanctuary, as much as a little bit of time and care and then transporting away from the area where there were residences. And a squeaky toy. Sad. Thankfully, neither the dogs or the homeowner were hurt.
-
Should have moved it to another location after giving her food.I am a hunter and think all wild things deserve a chance.
-
So they could not transport the animal to a remote area of the state. This sounds like a typical California government screw up. No wonder the state is broke, losing population and businesses. Stupid leadership for many years is showing it result.
-
-
-
How many of you are going to volunteer the money to pay to keep these animals in a sanctuary? Sounds good on paper until someone has to foot the bill.
-
And the moment the cougar killed someone, everyone would be all up in arms and angry the conservation officers didn’t do their job and kill the cougar. Really. Makes sense. They do something to protect the citizens of a city (you know, possibly small children included) and people call the officers aholes. Really nice. Maybe when you become a conservation officer and make these decisions on a daily basis, you can then have a better understanding as to why certain decisions are made. Or you can be the one who lets the cougar go and you can be the one who ends up taking the flack for allowing a dangerous animal loose that ends up killing someone.
-
-
Breaks my heart.Poor animal. Too lazy to find a sanctuary to nurse it and let it live? She did not harm anyone.
-
Agreed. No reason to kill it!Just take him father away. Our tax money pays for the gas in your trucks.
-
A very interesting story. Happy that you were not hurt. It would have been a big surprise to find the Cougar in your home!
-
There is an overpopulation of mountain lions in CA.As a whole, they have decimated the deer population.The cougar was starving because there is no feed left for it.It’s what happens in nature when an overpopulation occurs.The young, weak, and old will die off because they can’t compete successfully with the stronger ones leaving more feed for the ones surviving.They come into urban areas because they will seek food in human populated areas in the absence of food in the more remote, overpopulated with cougar, ecosystems.There is not enough room in the few sanctuaries that can take a mountain lion.They’re pretty full at this time.Lastly, once a wild animal becomes acclimated to humans, they lose their fear.This lessened fear puts them and us in a more likely position of attack.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
This is just up the road from where we live. So very sad that baby had to die. Verena U are so right in all your story.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.