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Victoria cougar gets happy ending up island

Victoria cougar gets happy ending up island

The cliché “lucky to be alive” is an appropriate way to sum up the fate of a cougar that inspired a dramatic chase through parts of Victoria earlier this week.

People on social media buzzed with excitement about the large cat, which was tranquilized and not killed Monday after it stalked its way through back alleys and over fences in a neighbourhood near downtown.

Richard Hamelin tweeted, “A normal day in #britishcolumbia cougar on the loose in #Victoria and whales in #Vancouver.”

“They better not kill it,” warned Sarah Butts.

James Bay neighbours watched from their balconies as Victoria police and conservation officers with dogs tracked the animal.

Sgt. Scott Norris with British Columbia Conservation Officer Service says when it comes to tranquilizing animals on the loose, it’s a case by case basis.

“It often comes down to public safety and how things play out,” he told Yahoo Canada News. “If a cougar is showing signs of aggression towards people, and it’s taking livestock and pets…chances are the cougar will be euthanized and not relocated.”

He says the happy ending was in large part a result of a joint effort between officers and neighbours who were loudly tracking the cat as it moved through backyards and alleyways. It’s since been relocated out in the middle of Vancouver Island, with an ear tag in its ear, which will allow conservation officers to track the animal if it wanders again.

Norris says this is the fourth time in the past 25 years that a cougar had been dealt with in Victoria.

There aren’t always happy endings with it comes to animal encounters. In September, a father from Tahsis on Vancouver Island punched a cougar after it bit his toddler’s head. The animal was later found and put down by conservation officers.

Also last month, a bear was killed by wildlife officers in Cadomin, Alta., after it attacked a sheep hunter. The man escaped with minor injuries.