WARNING: This article contains graphic images that some readers may find disturbing.
A cougar was euthanized by B.C. conservation officers on Thursday morning after a lamb was killed on a property in Colwood.
Mark Ridley says he walked out of his Seafield Road home around 5:30 a.m. and spotted the big cat attacking one of his livestock in its pen.
He says the cougar saw him but didn’t flee. It instead stayed put and finished off the kill.
The cougar eventually moved away but showed no signs of leaving the area.
Police and conservation officers were called to the property and, with the help of search dogs, located the animal.
“As the area is surrounded by subdivisions and walking trails, officers decided to euthanize the cougar based on the livestock kill and the signs of habituation,” a statement from the BC Conservation Officer Service read.
Ridley says the rest of his flock of 11 sheep are staying well away from their pen, still too nervous to return.
Ben O'Hara
