SUNDRE — Upon attending a property where a cougar had reportedly been spotted, a local Fish and Wildlife officer said he did not locate the predator, but did discover canine tracks.
The alleged sighting was called in on Saturday, April 25 from a home in Sundre, north and east of the grocery store across from Main Avenue.
“It was just a dog,” said Darren McInnes.
“It got reported as a cougar, but when I went to the place there to look into it, all I saw was some tracks in their front yard, and they were from some dog,” said McInnes.
“So I don’t know how things got so blown out of proportion.”
Asked whether any other cougar sightings had been reported during approximately the same period of time, McInnes said, “That was the only call that I’ve received on a cougar (that) weekend.”
Responding to a follow up question as to whether there had recently been any reports of pets or livestock falling prey to predators in the area, McInnes said he had not personally received any such calls nor had he heard about any from his colleagues.
The Fish and Wildlife officer encourages people to promptly call in without delay any reports of potential sightings of predators in the area.
“If there’s a complaint of any sort, they need to call it in to us,” he said.
“If anyone has a complaint, I don’t mind heading out. Otherwise, I don’t know. If they don’t phone it in, then there is no way that I would know about it.”
Anyone with a concern can contact the toll-free Report A Poacher hotline any time of day at 1-800-642-3800, he said.
“Even though it’s called the Report A Poacher line, you can call about any fish and wildlife complaint or concern that you have. That’s the place to start, and then they’ll be put in contact with an officer, and then we take it from there and see what’s what.”
In the meantime, McInnes said that life has not changed drastically for local Fish and Wildlife officers during the pandemic.
“It’s a bit slower out there, but it’s kind of a slower time right now anyways, as the ice is coming off the lakes and the streams are opening up, water’s high,” he said.
“Things are just kind of starting to get underway now.”
However, he added the office in Sundre has been closed, and contact with people has been limited, “as it is everywhere.”
