Coquitlam residents are being told to exercise caution in and around green spaces following weeks of unusual cougar sightings in the city.
There are believed to be two of the wildcats roaming the areas around Coquitlam River, leading to multiple reports to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service every day.
Though the animals haven's shown signs of aggression, they have demonstrated some bizarre behaviour. In one recent incident, a cougar approached a dog that was being walked near Norm Staff Park and started sniffing it.
"Obviously it's abnormal behaviour for a cougar to be that comfortable approaching a pet that close to its owner like that," conservation officer Shawn McNaughton said.
Once the dog's owner noticed what was happening, the cougar ran away.
In another sighting, a cougar entered the backyard of a Coquitlam home and was eyeballing a resident's chickens.
"It looked like a good sized cougar, it wasn't emaciated," said Chelsea Giesbrecht, who snapped a picture of the wildcat. "It was beautiful, but scary."
Conservation has set up a trap using meat and catnip, and is hoping to capture the cougar or cougars so they can assess what's causing the strange behaviour.
In the meantime, they're telling people with homes that back on to green spaces not to let their pets roam free.
"Obviously whenever there's any sort of public safety concerns or anything where a cougar might have become too comfortable around people, it's something we take quite seriously," McNaughton said.
Anyone who encounters a cougar should make themselves look big and back away slowly, according to conservation officers.
Don't turn and run away, as it can trigger a cougar's predatory instincts, McNaughton added.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Sheila Scott
