Cougars spotted on SkyTrain tracks in Port Moody
The animals tripped an alarm early Friday morning
Two adult cougars were spotted walking along the SkyTrain tracks in Port Moody, B.C., early Friday morning, but TransLink said the public isn't in any danger.
Around 4:10 a.m., a guideway alarm was triggered at Inlet Centre Station along the Evergreen Line, alerting TransLink that something was on the tracks.
Officials realized the big cats were responsible after looking through surveillance footage.
"They were just there, taking a stroll," said Transit Police spokeswoman Anne Drennan.
By the time SkyTrain personnel went down to do their routine morning sweep of the tracks, the animals had already gone.
How's this for a paws-atively strange sight! Two cougars went for an early morning jaunt through Inlet <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkyTrain?src=hash">#SkyTrain</a> station this morning! ^sk <a href="https://t.co/rtAgS7LbGt">pic.twitter.com/rtAgS7LbGt</a>
—@thebuzzerTransLink spokesman Chris Bryan said wildlife sightings aren't totally abnormal at SkyTrain stations, but cougars are quite rare.
"We definitely live on the West Coast, so there's wildlife that gets onto the tracks from time to time. We've had raccoons, we've had coyotes ... [but] one of our staff from the control room — who's been here for 15 years — he's never heard of a cougar being on the tracks."
He added that the Evergreen extension — which lengthens the Millennium line from Burnaby into Coquitlam and Port Moody — means SkyTrain is now running in less-developed parts of Metro Vancouver.
"If you look at Inlet Centre Station, there's a lot of forest in that area — so it's not surprising."
Bryan said there was no warning issued to the public. The B.C. Conservation Service and Port Moody police were notified of the sightings.