Cougar takes Sunday morning stroll through Carmi

PENTICTON – A cougar sighting in the city earlier this week is being monitored by the conservation office.

Penticton Conservation Officer Sgt. Jim Beck says the cougar was spotted by a Penticton resident crossing the street in the area of Hatfield Avenue and Allison Street, north of Carmi Avenue, at roughly 7:30 a.m., Sunday, May 22, not far from Columbia Elementary School.

“The cougar basically crossed the road and took off into a green belt area,” Beck says, adding the neighbourhood backs up to natural habitat where a number of urban deer might live.

Beck says the conservation office has not had any other reports since the Sunday sighting, and believes the cougar was probably hunting some of the urban deer in the area.

He notes there was a cat was sighted at the edge of town feeding on some of the deer in that area earlier in the season. He believes that cat might be starting to prey on the less wary urban deer which habituate green belts within the city.

“We’re concerned about it, but as long as the cougar is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, we won’t interfere,” he says, adding there have not been any reports of residents missing pets in the area.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.