We were contacted by a lady who leaves in the Bragg Creek area. She said she heard a noise the previous night from behind her house that she believes was a screaming of a cougar and she is afraid of the predator lingering around her property at nights.
Investigation:
When I arrived to the house the owner was not home. There were two dogs inside the building. There was a forested area right behind the house. I scanned through the yard and a reasonable area of the forest adjacent to the property looking for signs such as cougar tracks, but most importantly any carcasses. Cougars are often attracted into residential areas by ungulates that seek refuge from predators. If they make a kill they will hide the left over. They cover the carrion with forest debris such as dead fallen leaves. They don’t do a perfect job and usually parts of the body stick out from the cover. If they hide the carcass in residential areas it is a high risk situation because cougars might protect the cache from people if they approach the area. I did not find any signs of cougar activity, however, the area was heavily used by deer that was revealed by several wildlife trails and deer droppings.
Solution:
After the investigation I talked to the owner. I explained that cougars often occur in this area and their main prey, deer, live just behind her house and most probably sometimes walk through even her yard. She confirmed it saying she often sees them from her window. I further explained that although I did not find any signs for cougars in her yard and the forested area behind it and the vocalization she heard might have come from coyotes, the forest can provide an excellent cover for big cats or even bears to approach her yard unnoticed.
My advises were the following:
1) For the time we figure out if there is any predator activity around the house, when she comes out from the house at night she should carry bear spray that works well on all offensive wildlife. She might want to do it even during the day since her property is well aside from other properties.
2) Never let her dogs out unattended since cougars often prey on dogs. Even if only coyotes are around, they can also attack her pets.
3) We should set up wildlife cameras to see what is around.
4) We can set up a noise deterrent device at the edge of the treed area, right behind the building where she heard the screaming coming from.
5) I suggested that if at night she hears suspicious noises or hears the noise deterrent triggered she should also turn on the outdoor lights. The best would be installing motion sensing lights for both the front and the back side of the building which are often effective deterrents.
6) If she goes in the forest behind she should have bear spray with her and keep the dogs on leash.
She wanted to set up cameras and a noise deterrent for a month. During the one month monitoring I captured images only of deer. The noise deterrent was triggered several times at night, most often by the deer. After two weeks I did the sweep once more in the yard and the forested area, but did not find any evidence for cougar activity. I offered the owner to purchase the installed noise deterrent, but since she did not hear cougar/coyote vocalization anymore and no evidence of predator activity was found by me, she did not choose to keep it. Later on during my follow up call she told me that she have had motion sensing lights installed.
As a result of my work the client was deeply relieved. However, I emphasized again that her house in Bragg Creek is right next to cougar and bear country and those animals can show up close to her property or even in her yard. She should always be aware of signs of predators and be extra vigilant when it is dark outside for her own and her pets’ safety. I offered my further services for the future if any wildlife problem occurs.