A recreation site near Campbell River is closed for day use and overnight camping after multiple sightings of a cougar believed to be injured and possibly aggressive.
The Conservation Officer Service said it became aware of cougar activity at Amor Lake Recreation Site on June 26, following sightings over the previous day, including campers reporting the big cat approaching a tent late at night on June 25. Two separate groups reported sightings, the service said.
The cougar could have an injured hind quarter, the service said.
Vanessa Sharkey was camping at the site last weekend with her partner, Cory Cliffe, and 11-year-old son, Jake.
On June 25, Sharkey and her son were harvesting cedar near the site when they heard sounds in the bushes that appeared to be getting closer to them. She tried yelling out to scare off whatever animal was in the bushes, but the sound kept coming closer, Sharkey said.
So she decided to head back to the campsite, where she met up with Cliffe. He had just bumped into other campers who warned him they had seen a cougar with an arrow sticking out of its back leg.
Sharkey thought the sound she had heard in the bushes was likely the same cougar, but she wasn’t particularly worried about it.
Around dusk, while down on a beach near the campsite, they started to hear noises in the bushes again, Sharkey said.
“Usually that’s not a big deal except our dog was alerting and getting really nervous about it,” she said.
They returned to their site and were getting ready to go to sleep while the sounds continued.
“It was a bigger animal and it wasn’t getting scared away by us making noises or the dog barking at it. So we were all just on high alert,” Sharkey said.
Cliffe shone his flashlight around the site and, about 15 metres away, he caught the cougar’s eyes and the front of its body sitting in the bushes.
They jumped into their truck and honked the horn, hoping that would scare off the animal, but instead it circled their site, she said.
They tried to pack up their belongings, but the cat was too close for comfort, Sharkey said, so they decided to leave their tents, kayaks and a truck behind, and they drove off back home to Campbell River for the night.
When they returned in the morning, they could see the paw prints around their site, Sharkey said. “It was very, very close to us and we couldn’t see it because it was pitch black.”
The recreation site was closed on June 26 through the long weekend. The Conservation Officer Service said a decision will be made this week on how long the site will remain closed. The boat ramp and canoe route to access Amor Lake remain open.
“Reduced activity at the site/lack of domestic animals (dogs) will hopefully cause this cougar to lose interest in this location, and move on,” the service said.
Cougar sightings should be immediately reported to RAPP 1-877-952-7277.
