Police in New Westminster say a cougar is dead after the large cat was spotted prowling around a residential neighbourhood on Halloween.
Police took to social media earlier in the evening to warn the public about the sighting, urging everyone to be careful and to keep pets indoors.
Officers eventually located the cougar several blocks from where it was originally reported. Police say the animal posed a significant risk to the public and had to be put down.
Some witnesses said there were still children trick-or-treating in the area when the cougar appeared.
Resident Erin Tabbernor was walking her dog near a graveyard when she saw something run out across the street.
“I thought it was a stray dog,” she says. “It went to a house and then it turned around and came back looking at me and I thought, there's that cougar that I heard about that's in the area."
Tabbernor says the animal was a healthy, large cat, growling and showing its teeth. Her priority quickly became to get out of the area as fast as she could.
"My dog is 85 pounds, he's strong -- he wants to go after it,” she says. “So, you're trying to drag him home and get out of there."
One witness who asked to remain anonymous told CTV News the animal appeared to lunge at officers, leaving them with no choice but to shoot it. The officer appeared shaken by having to pull the trigger, the witness added.
Conservation officers say the encounter acts as a good reminder for the public to be vigilant – and to give them a call whenever a cougar is spotted in the city.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Julie Nolin and The Canadian Press
