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A shaken Calgary-area mom fears a cougar may be concentrating on her younger daughter after it killed one of many household’s pets early Tuesday afternoon earlier than returning to the house hours later.
Jessica Low’s five-year-old daughter was inside the home when she noticed a cougar exterior her patio window round 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, together with the physique of one of many household’s two barn cats. The cougar returned to the identical window at round 9 p.m., Low stated.
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“We heard some banging . . . I assumed it was my son simply playing around in his room,” Low stated of the second encounter. “Then my daughter noticed it again on the identical window it had come to earlier.
“It was head-butting the window and staring us down.”
The 2 encounters with the cougar have left Low in a state of worry.
“I’m shaken up,” she stated. “We’re simply staying inside and hoping that it will get caught.”
She has not let her three younger youngsters exterior since and when leaving the house, they pile into the automobile with the storage door nonetheless closed, she stated.
Two Fish and Wildlife officers had been on the highway exterior Low’s dwelling Wednesday afternoon chatting with close by residents. There have been no sightings of the cougar Wednesday, one of many officers stated.
“Predators being energetic in mid-day in proximity to residences is all the time a priority,” stated provincial Fish and Wildlife officer Phil Marasco.
“The truth that this one got here again twice is the rationale we’re right here,” Marasco stated. “To comply with up and ensure we’re overlaying our bases.
“We hope (the cougar) strikes off,” he added.
Low stated her issues are heightened by the sensation the cat is coming after her youngest daughter.
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“The truth that it got here again that rapidly into the identical window that it noticed my daughter at . . . is further scary,” she stated.
Low lives together with her husband and three children on the outskirts of southwest Calgary close to the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation space, an space recognized for having wildlife akin to bears, cougars and coyotes.
“They’re round however they don’t often come out through the day,” Low stated. “We’ve by no means seen one at evening even, so it’s not one thing I had been frightened about.”
Low stated she was anticipating Fish and Wildlife officers to return in a while Wednesday to set traps on her property.
“Hopefully it’ll be handled within the subsequent 24 hours or so,” she stated. “If it’s caught, I’ll really feel loads higher.”
Whereas one of many household’s two cats was killed by the cougar, the opposite one remains to be lacking.
Fish and Wildlife officers ‘actively monitoring the state of affairs’
Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Providers solely reply to conditions the place there’s a direct public security threat, in response to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security and Emergency Providers.
“Our officers are actively monitoring the state of affairs and are at the moment evaluating the subsequent steps to make sure the security of each the residents and the wildlife,” stated Sheena Campbell, communications director for the ministry.
“Within the meantime, Fish and Wildlife officers proceed to teach native residents on the best way to keep protected in cougar territory.”
Cougars might be discovered throughout the Calgary space and are usually elusive, Campbell stated.
She advises the neighborhood to stay cautious and report any additional sightings to 1-800-642-3800.
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