A sickly female adult cougar has been euthanized after seeking shelter from the snow outside several Kelowna, B.C. apartment buildings Sunday night.
Residents of Westwynd Apartment Buildings and Okanagan Chateau spotted the feline resting inside a decorative brick alcove just outside the front doors of the building.
Some neighbours said the cougar sat inside the alcove for nearly an hour.
“I was like ‘Oh, crap there’s a cougar,’” said resident Keltie Wray. “I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and I didn’t know what to do.”
Nervous residents stayed inside and called Mounties, who arrived at the buildings shortly before 9 p.m.
Two BC Conservation Officers were also at the scene and tranquilized the cougar, who tried to run away.
“We’ve had deer walk through the parking lot but… not one of these,” said Chris Robson, who lives in a nearby building. “It was really moving, going crazy.”
The cougar didn’t get far before succumbing to the tranquilizer, RCMP said.
Conservation officers planned to release the cougar back into the wild, but after examining the “beautiful and dangerous animal” there was a change of plans.
The feline had sores all over her body, and serious problems with her teeth. She was deemed too unhealthy to be released back into the wild, and Conservation Officers made the decision to put her down.
The cougar’s poor health may have contributed to her erratic behavior this weekend.
No residents were injured during the incident - but it was an experience they won’t easily forget.
“You could see the great head, and it was staring right at me,” said one woman who asked to remain anonymous.
“Right at me, these big eyes and I thought, that is a dangerous animal.”
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Kent Molgat
