SPOKANE, Wash. – South Hill residents are on alert after recent cougar sightings in the area. One resident, Mary Jo Stauner, shared her experience of spotting a cougar on her property early Tuesday morning.
“There was a sighting of a cougar down on Hatch Road, and I thought, for whatever reason, that cougar is going to show up in my yard,” said Stauner.
To her surprise, the cougar did indeed make an appearance around 5 a.m. Stauner checked her cameras before heading outside to ensure her safety.
“It’s kind of cute how it turned to look when it came past the garage wall next door. It’s like it was looking to make sure that the street was clear,” said Stauner.
Stauner’s cameras have captured various wildlife before, but the presence of a cougar was particularly concerning.
“Just a whole lot of wildlife for being this close to the city,” she said.
The safety of her small dog, who needs to go out more frequently due to medication, is a primary concern for Stauner. Additionally, the cougar was also spotted on 37th St, near Hamblen Park and Hamblen Elementary School.
“Then, my concern is all those little kids, you know and a lot of now it’s darker longer in the morning,” Stauner said.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is aware of the sightings. However, they find it difficult to confirm if both sightings involve the same cougar.
Staci Lehman from the department explained the situation further.
“That cat’s on the move, which is exactly what we want. We want it to keep moving. We want it to move to better habitat,” said Lehman.
No further action is planned since the cougar has not shown any threatening behavior.
“It hasn’t done anything that a wild animal shouldn’t be doing,” she said.
When asked about potential responses to a more stationary cougar, Lehman clarified the department’s priorities.
“Human safety comes, you know, is always first. So, we can’t always just use a gun of any kind in public. It really depends on the situation but we might dart it, we might move it, we could try to haze it, try to get to scare it away, to just go back to the woods. We might trap it,” said Lehman.
Residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and report any further sightings to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
