Cougar alert in Burnaby

Cougar alert in Burnaby
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Nov. 3, 2002

People living near Burnaby Mountain are being advised to keep a close watch on their small children, after two separate reports of a cougar travelling through the area in recent weeks.
Recent construction activity around Simon Fraser University is the likely cause of the travels of the tawny cat, which was spotted early in October near the Forest Meadows housing complex and then again near Gaglardi Way on Oct. 20.
"Burnaby Mountain is traditional bear, cougar, deer and raccoon territory," B.C. conservation officer Fred Barnes told the Burnaby NOW this week. "I've been here for 13 years, and there's been a cougar up on that mountain for the whole time.
"People need to know, they should be expecting animals like that up there."
Anyone who spots the animal is advised to remain calm, slowly back away and the report the sighting to the authorities, Barnes said.
"Just remember, humans are not natural prey for a cougar," he said. "Cougars go after deer or smaller animals. Sure, there is always a possibility that if a child is crawling, a cougar might mistake them for a small animal, but that is very unlikely.
"Parents should just keep an eye open, keep their children in groups and try to make noise when they're outside. It might be a good idea to have a radio playing, or something."
Barnes confirmed that conservation officers did take tracking dogs onto the mountain in an attempt to find the animal after the first sighting in early October, but the large cat had disappeared.
The cougar may not be a year-round resident of Burnaby Mountain and may have swum across Burrard Inlet to the more secluded areas of the North Shore mountains, Barnes said.
However, at least one North Burnaby resident believes the B.C. ministry of environment is remiss in not alerting the public immediately after the first sighting, and then relocating the animal after the second sighting.
"I run the trails up here constantly and was surprised to hear there were two positive sightings," said Debbie Preissl, who alerted the Burnaby NOW to the reports. "I know the animal has been reported to fish and wildlife, but they've done nothing.
"This isn't a small rural area with only a few thousands residents. This is Burnaby Mountain - a high density area where people walk their dogs, and so forth," Preissl said. "They've had two positive i.d.s of the cougar and they still haven't trapped it."
"Tell me, if someone was brutally attacked tomorrow, how would they feel?"
Preissl said the first reported sighting was made by a local landscaper who spotted the cat as it watched a young girl, aged two or three, playing outside near a Forest Grove housing complex.
"The cougar was stalking her," Preissl said. "The gardener saw it, basically yelled at the mother and then he ran and grabbed the little girl."
Meanwhile, Barnes said there is no reason to take further action until the sightings are absolutely confirmed.
"We did go out with the hounds one day and they found nothing so there is still a chance that it night have been a dog or a coyote.
"The unfortunate things about these, is that once people hear there is a cougar around, everyone sees it and every sound becomes a cougar. The best advice is to just be aware and don't leave small children out by themselves. We have cougars all along the North Shore, Maple Ridge, Coquitlam and Mission areas. They're around, but that doesn't mean they're dangerous to the people around them."
Anyone who spots the cougar is asked to call the BC Conservation office 24-hour emergency wildlife line at 1-800-663-9453.