Generally, cougars are elusive and solitary animals, preferring to avoid any kind of interaction with humans. They range from northern Canada to the southern tip of South America and wouldn't you know it, 撸奶社区is ideal cougar country.
Our community offers the essential elements that cougars require: food, cover, water and space. Numerous factors influence the increase in sightings/encounters that we have been experiencing recently. With our community's growth comes an increase in habitat fragmentation, contributing to an increase in the urban interface with cougar habitat. We are basically reducing the buffer between humans and wildlife; with a growing population comes an increase in potential attractants made available to cougars (i.e. domestic pets, feeding wildlife); more people are out recreating in our front and backcountry than ever before and this increases the potential for human-cougar interactions; the ebb and flow of cougars' main prey (deer) will affect the location, activity and abundance of cougar populations; and an increased awareness of the Conservation Officer hotline number creates an increase in the sightings data.
Because cougars are opportunistic predators, they will also prey on urban wildlife (i.e. raccoons, squirrels and coyotes) and pets (i.e. cats, dogs, goats, sheep, llamas and chickens).
The trio of cougars that were destroyed last week had been active in the area since June. They were highly habituated to human activity and were basically viewing our residential neighbourhoods as a resource for shelter and food. They were not elusive or trying to avoid interactions with humans; the behaviour they were displaying was abnormal.
Living with cougars in our midst and managing cougar attractants is somewhat challenging but it's not that much different from managing our bear attractants. Understanding cougar behaviour and biology, what to do to prevent encounters along with how to reduce attractants on your property will go a long way in mitigating future conflicts. Calling the Conservation Officer Service 24/7 hotline (1-877-952-7277) for all cougar sightings and encounters allows the wildlife managers to manage wildlife. Calling the hotline before an animal becomes habituated to humans allows the COS more options on how to mitigate conflict. If we allow wildlife to become habituated and comfortable in our neighbourhoods, the options become limited. Like bears, cougars can be hazed (i.e. bear bangers, rubber bullets) out of an area but only if they haven't reached a level of habituation or conflict that makes the hazing a futile effort. So... before you pick up the camera... pick up the phone.
We all recognize the fundamental value of our wildlife; we must strike a balance between safety and conservation through awareness and accountability. For information on how to live safely in cougar country, visit www.env.gov.bc.ca
