Conservation officers on Vancouver Island have shot and killed a cougar after it chased a woman down a popular walking trail.
Several people reported seeing the big cat around the Galloping Goose trail in the Langford area Monday morning, including a woman who said she hid in a carport to escape it.
“I could see his eyes. That’s how close I was,” Nadia Vantankeren told CTV News. “I could see his eyes and just his whole mannerisms and the way he was slinky and he looked like he was turning around didn’t quite know where he was going.”
Officials found the cougar in the Glen Lake Road area, near Glen Lake Inn, and shot it while it was in a tree.
Conservation officers believe the young male cougar was sick, and say its behaviour was unusual.
“He looked a little bit agitated,” Vantankeren said. “Then when he sat there for a second to look at me and he just started bolting right towards me I just ran.”
It is believed another cougar -- possibly a sibling -- may still be in the same area.
People living in the area are advised to keep an eye on young children and keep small animals on a leash.
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