Residents near Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island nervous about cougar prowling area

Residents near Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island say they are worried about at least one cougar they have seen moving through the area, which conservation officers say has killed a pony in its pen.

A cougar has been observed in a rural area, with plenty of green space, outside of Qualicum Beach. On Saturday, conservation officers in the area confirmed that it had killed a small horse in its enclosure.

Dan Eichstadter with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (CSO) said the incident is unusual.

"The horse is considered a bit different because it's contained in a paddock, it's close to the house, it's kept, husbandry practices are there to try to protect them," he said.

Local residents say that it's not unusual to see cougars in the area, but stories are circulating that this cougar is targeting peoples' pets and that there may be two of the animals around, perhaps a mother and a cub.

'Stalking our street'

Locals like Chris Burger with the Corcan Meadowood Residents Association said the cougar observed in the area is making the neighbourhood unsafe.

"We're starting to feel a little bit like deer ourselves" he said.

"It's stalking our street, it's stalking our neighbourhood and it's not going away. We're used to cougars here, we have cougars coming through all the time. We're in a wild area, but this is a little different."

Luise and Jim Elphick said that a cougar has killed and eaten a local cat.

"It was pretty upsetting so we've been kind of worried about our little chihuahuas," she said.

Gilles Beaudry photographed what he believes to be the cougar in his backyard, but that its behaviour was not a concern to him at the time.

"It seemed very tame and slow and not aggressive at all, [the] kind of animal you go out and pet or you'd think so because it was posing so well for me," he said.

Eichstadter said the animal's apparent ease around humans is not normal behaviour for cougars. Officers with the CSO are actively trying to find the cougar, but have not been successful yet.

Like Burger, Jim Elphick also hopes conservation officers will catch up with it soon.

"It's not going to be a safe place to be until it's relocated or shot or whatever they have to do," he said.

Conservation officers agree there could be two cougars and are asking people to call the provincial Report All Poachers and Polluters line at 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP) to report any sightings.