Marie Rose Hagan was walking her small dog Louise on Thurlow Street in Fairfield about 8 a.m. on a recent Sunday morning when she says a cougar ran across Fairfield Road into a bushy area.
She said she had a clear view of the animal. She continued walking and met a woman who was also with a dog and they chatted for about five minutes about the cougar.
The animal then ran out again and disappeared, said Hagan, adding the animal appeared to be an adult cougar. “It sure was fast.”
Hagan said she reported the incident to the Conservation Officer Service.
It’s the second reported cougar sighting in the area, after a pedicab driver carrying passengers through Beacon Hill Park last week saw what he believes was a young cougar.
Cougars are not unheard of in the region’s urban areas but sightings are uncommon.
In August 2020, a Saanich woman was closing her back door one night when she noticed what looked like a yellow Labrador dog on her back porch, but turned out to be a cougar.
Saanich police came by but couldn’t find the animal, but two hours later, she saw the big cat lying under a bush in her front yard.
That same evening, another Saanich woman saw a cougar chasing deer.
At that time, a Conservation Officer Service spokesman said that more cougar sightings were being reported, possibly because of the rise in urban deer numbers. Deer are natural prey for cougars.
Anyone encountering a cougar is advised not to turn their back on animal but to back away and give the cougar a route to escape, while making themselves as large as possible and picking up young children.
If followed by a cougar, look aggressive and make eye contact and loud noises. If you’re attacked, fight back.
Sightings can be reported to the Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.
