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B.C. cougars getting braver: 2 close encounters

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Shannon Paterson on cougar encounters
Shaheed Devji on cougar standoff

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By: Chelsea Altice, ctvbc.ca

Date: Friday Jan. 20, 2012 3:10 PM PT

Mounties are issuing a warning after a cougar reportedly chased a little girl in one of two Mission, B.C. sightings Thursday.

A conservation officer arrived at the first sighting around 5 p.m. after receiving a report that a cougar was trailing a young girl who was walking along the "green belt" near 12th Avenue and Weatherhead Court.

Hours later a second cougar was spotted near Dunsmuir Street and 10th Avenue, but officers could not locate either cat.

Police are now warning the public to take safety precautions.

"Please be mindful when allowing small children to play outside and keep a close eye on your pets," RCMP Cpl Sharon Siluch said in a release.

The reports came a night after a father and son in Sechelt, B.C. recorded a cougar pawing at their glass patio door.

Luke Martin, 14, was watching American Idol with his family when he noticed something moving on the deck. He was shocked to see a cougar prowling on the steps and grabbed his iPhone to begin filming.

"I didn't expect it to come right up to the window," Luke said. "Usually you'd expect it to be more afraid of you than you are of them, but not in this case."

Their brave house cat wandered up to door as the cougar started to bang his head against the glass and growl.

"I was concerned for everyone's safety," said Luke's father Bob Martin. "Cougars are strong and unpredictable and I didn't know if the mother was behind it."

Martin said the cat appeared to be young and healthy with a thick fur coat. He estimated its weight was 60 lbs.

"It was big enough to hurt somebody on its own. If it had come through the glass who knows what could've happened," he said.

The cougar continued to attack the glass for 20 minutes before it finally gave up on its unattainable dinner watching back from inside the home.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Shaheed Devji

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RWR
said
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Has it dawned on anyone that there must be a reason. That something has happened to their food sources. Before people go on a killing spree, this should be investigated.


????
said
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Could this be from just a little over developing in a rural area?


simone
said
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Let's all remember we are in their front yards.Put the guns/rifles away boys.


Tony
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The other night I was at one of the local pubs in Mission. There were more than 2 cougars in there!!!