Conservation officers have shot and killed a young cougar on Vancouver Island after it spent the weekend hanging around a popular camping area.
The female cat was first spotted in Goldstream Provincial Park west of Victoria on Saturday night, and wasn't scared off when campers threw rocks at it as it wandered near their site the next day.
Conservation officer Peter Pauwels says the animal was too comfortable around humans, making for a dangerous situation.
"When we've got a cougar hanging around in a campground in a rural location like that, with lots of little children around, it's just the worst place you could possibly have one," he said.
Officers tracked the animal and killed it Monday morning. Pauwels says the animal wasn't a good candidate for relocation because it was young and showed no fear of people.
"We've got a large population of cougars right now in some of these rural and suburban areas, which indicates that perhaps the available territory in the wilderness areas is full," he added.
The shooting comes just one week after 19-month-old Julien Sylvester was mauled by a cougar in Kennedy Lake Provincial Park near Tofino.
The little boy was on the beach with his grandfather and sister when the big cat grabbed him and bit down on his skull. The cougar's fangs punctured the skull in two places, but doctors say the child is expected to make a full recovery.
The park has been closed since the attack as authorities search for the cougar, but may be re-opened after Labour Day.
