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Family of cougars moves into Departure Bay neighbourhood

Nov 26, 2016 | 2:34 PM

NANAIMO — What’s believed to be a family of four cougars have found a new home in a wooded area in Nanaimo’s Departure Bay neighbourhood, according to a local conservation officer.

Stuart Bates with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service says a female adult cougar along with at least two and likely a third kitten are living in a wooded ravine off Departure Bay Road at Newton Street.

“They’ve shown no aggressive behaviour towards any people, we’ve got no reports of pets being taken,” said Bates.

“We will monitor if the cougar’s behaviour changes. If it warrants removal, we will remove it,” he said.

Bates says that staff at nearby Departure Bay Elementary School and the city of Nanaimo have been informed about the arrival of the cougars. He states that numerous reports about the animals have been made by area residents over the past month. Bates points out that an ample supply of deer likely attracted the cougars to the area. He estimates the young cougars are about five months old. He’s not sure where they came from, but believes there is a link to nearby Linley Valley.

“We’re not sure if this is the resident cougar from Linley Valley that simply moved down here, or if this is possibly another one that could be a dispersed female from the adult female at Linley Valley.”

Ron Poulter, who has lived a few blocks away on Shamrock Place since 1972, is concerned about a lack of information regarding the presence of the cougars. Poulter says he’s not aware of any warning signs and didn’t get confirmation about rumours of cougars nearby, despite inquiring to the Conservation Service. Poulter says families and children regularly walk through the trails in Woodstream Park. He believes that the upper portion of the wooded strip of land is private property.

“Cougars are carnivores and if they run out of deer, what’s next?”

Poulter says there have been noticeably less deer in the area over the last several years.

“Lately there’s been fewer. I assume that’s because the cougars have followed the deer into the city and mother nature takes its course,” he said.

Bates says that Vancouver Island is home to the highest concentration of cougars in Canada. He notes there are about 4,000 cougars in the country, with about 1,000 living on the island.

Bates said if a cougar or cougars start showing predatory behaviour toward people, a lack of fear of people, or attack pets, then they have no choice but to destroy them.

A cougar was put down by conservation officers in January for killing house cats in the Linley Valley area. In Sept. 2014, an off-leash chihuahua was snatched away then killed by a cougar in front of its owner on Mount Benson.

Bates stresses that incidents of cougars harming or killing humans are few and far between.

“To keep people at ease, cougar attacks are extremely rare.”