A large cougar was shot and killed by police after it was found in a residential yard in Port Moody Monday night.
Port Moody Police were called to a home in the 100 Block of April Road at around 8 p.m. where the nearly 200-pound cougar had been spotted in a tree. It was the second time on Monday that the cougar had been reported in the area near the north-west border of Port Moody.
Port Moody resident Inga Viktora said there are often raccoons, coyotes and deer around her neighbourhood, but this wild animal sighting was a first for her.
"I had never seen a live cougar before... it was very large," she said.
Police said no conservation officers were available to attend the scene and officers tried to scare the large animal away.
“There were attempts to get rid of it using the airhorn and sirens and it was clearly not leaving the area,” said Cst. Luke Van Winkel of the Port Moody Police Department. “It was determined that the cougar appeared unwilling to leave the area and was progressing closer and closer into residential areas.”
Viktora described the shocked reactions of nearby residents when they heard the gunshots.
“When we heard that first shot [we said] ‘Oh my god,’ and then there were two more shots,” Viktora said.
Officers decided they would need to shoot the cougar since it would not leave the residential area that has many popular recreational trails.
"The residential area is surrounded by a system of trails so [it is] frequently used by families, dog walkers [and] this time of year, kids,” Cst. Van Winkel said. “So it was determined that the cougar would have to be destroyed.”
Van Winkel said in his ten years with the Port Moody Police this is the first time the police have had to kill a cougar.
Although cougar sightings are rare in Port Moody they are indigenous to the area.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Hurst
