Cougar Caught on Camera Lurking Around University Heights
Prince George, B.C. – A well known local politician has captured a rare shot of a cougar prowling around University Heights.
City councillor and wildlife enthusiast Brian Skakun says the shot was taken from one of his trail cameras around midnight three or four nights ago.
“It’s a first for me. I know they’ve been spotted on Cranbrook Hill and behind UNBC and this photo is within 500 metres of University Heights. It’s a big cat so it’s quite surprising.”
Surprising, but not unusual says Denny Chretien with the BC Conservation Service.
“Not all all. There’s no unusual time of year for a cougar. They don’t hibernate and they cover a lot of ground,” he says. “It’s a sheltered area for deer so it could have been hunting a natural food source which is what I’m pretty sure it was doing.”
He adds it’s not a cause for concern. “Not at all. To me it’s a good sign that we’re actually maintaining a natural environment.”
Despite that reassurance, Skakun says he plans on being more aware of his surroundings the next time he heads out into the bush.
“I’m always cautious of bears and that but this time of year it heightens my attention that I have to be aware of big cats around. I’m sure they’re scared of humans but if they’re hungry you never know.”
Comments
What a beautiful animal, thanks for the pic! It looks healthy and happy
Wildlife is always around. Most of us are too preoccupied to notice. Seeing one on a trail camera is nothing to worry about. Actually seeing one firsthand in your backyard though, is a reason to be worried. Cougars are not a social creature, and will take every precaution to not be seen. If you venture into the woods much, you have most likely been within sight of one and never noticed.
They very rarely take any interest in humans or large pets. Passing through an outlying subdivision at night is nothing out of the ordinary. If they are actually seen during the day, then there might be a reason for concern.
Nice pic.
Looks extremely happy. Nice smile and a bit of a wink there too. Tail is down, so no stress detected.
I would like to have seen the picture of the cat’s reaction to the flash. Need a strobe with rapid fire shutter to get that kind of imagery.
Most if not all trail cams have night vision and don’t use a flash for night time pictures or video. Don’t ask me now it works but I know ours takes good pictures at night and you don’t see it flash or even light up. A clear picture is probably more due to the camera being quite close to the subject rather than a bunch of flashes.
Don’t worry Brian, you don’t smell like chickens LOL!
Lets get chickens in our back yards and they will move down into to the bowl and have a real feast! One more reason not to allow chickens in the backyards.
it would also pose a real threat to our kids and pets, once they get closer to town.
Last week there was a cougar or another type of wild cat? spotted in Burnaby, one of the municipalities that allow the chickens in backyards. Go figure….
Not to worry everyone, they just posted this warning sign up there. ;-)
http://i.imgur.com/nCgTV.jpg
Nice!!! thanks for the smile. The headline obviously evoked it :-)
Bow hunting Cougar is a great way to harvest these cats for their meat. Really good eating too Brian.
What licenses are required to hunt cougars?
Probably just a drivers license unless you have a bicycle built for two.
I answered my own question. Went to the government site – $30 for cougar.
The fees table is titled “Hunting Licence Fees for British Columbia Residents April 2004”
We have 2016 …. why is this site so outdated or why have the fees not changed since then when our other user fees are all rising, especially municipal?
Are hunters getting a free ride? Have the department costs not gone up since 2004?
env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/resident/old/licences.html
The site address I was viewing.
Go to http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/ and in the copy of the regs you will see the current prices and fees.
Don’t worry everyone, they just posted this warning sign up there to keep trail walkers safe.
http ://i.imgur.com/nCgTV.jpg
“Don’t worry Brian, you don’t smell like chickens LOL!”
Now that there is really funny I dont care who you are
They are amazingly fast too. My wife spotted one once out North Nechako as it crossed the road… and almost in the time it took me to turn my head it only took about three pounces to cross the road, and two to get up a fifty foot embankment. If one was to blink they would almost miss it.
This was a cat about one and a half times the length of a large German sheppard, and way in excess of 200+ pounds. When I seen this I too was a little taken aback by their large size thinking I didn’t think they were supposed to be that large….
I don’t know why people are surprised. I thought this was the home of the Cougars?
Pub or rink?
In the pub they are much heavier I am told.
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