Princeton RCMP officer forced to shoot cougar

A Princeton RCMP officer dispatched a cougar in the community yesterday after a search for the cat was prompted by two sightings.

Sgt. Rob Hughes of the Princeton RCMP says the detachment was notified of a cougar moving through someone's backyard in an outlying residential neighbourhood around 10 a.m. yesterday, June 2.

Officers from the Conservation Officer Service in Merritt were called as Princeton officers patrolled the neighbourhood on foot and by vehicle, but failed to find any sign of the cat.

“We thought maybe it had been just passing through, but as we were discussing the incident with conservation officers, another sighting of the cat was reported around 2 p.m.,” Hughes says.

Conservation officers and police split up in a search of the area. Hughes says he was on his way back from a nearby ridge when he “felt something.”

“I turned around, took a few steps back and saw the cougar 40 metres behind, skulking, following my tracks,” he says. “i don’t know if it would have attacked me, but it wasn’t worth the risk to human life, with two sightings, in a neighbourhood with kids playing in the middle of the day."

He shot the cougar, which was a healthy, 80 to 90 pound two-year-old male.

“I expected it to run away, but it just sat there, looking at me. It’s quite unnerving to turn around and see a cat that big following in your footsteps,” he says.

Hughes says there has been three cougar sightings in the town so far this year – two yesterday and one a week ago in which a resident was followed from the Deerfoot Motel at 4 a.m.

Hughes says it isn’t unusual for conservation officers and RCMP to jointly deploy in situations where conservation officers might be an hour or more away, as is the case in Princeton.

“I’ve lived around here my whole life, and spent thousands of hours in the bush. I’ve never seen a cougar in the wild before,” he says.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Steve Arstad

I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.

Steve Arstad's Stories