SPOKANE, Wash. – A five-second video showing a cougar taking a stroll through a South Hill neighborhood has people who live nearby talking.
A viewer sent NonStop Local the security camera footage of the cougar walking close to a house near the intersection of 41st Ave. and Havana St.
“Well it’s kind of alarming, especially because I have dogs and kids and it’s so close [to the] neighborhood,” said Heidi Romero.
NonStop Local asked Romero what went through her mind when she first saw the video circulating online.
“I mean that would explain why my dogs might’ve been barking earlier, they’ve been on a barking rage since last night,” she said. “Possibly they heard something, smelled something, I’m not really sure.”
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says cougar attacks are extremely rare, but sightings on security cameras aren’t all that uncommon–especially in more rural areas of the state, or suburban areas with significant wildland urban interface.
Even so, neighbors are understandably concerned to see a predator in their neck of the woods.
“I hope that it’s still safe to go out and take our garbage out at night, but it is very alarming to have a wild animal like that in the neighborhood that can cause a lot of harm,” Romero said.
For more information about what to do if you come across a cougar in your neighborhood or out in the wild, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has all kinds of information about preventing conflict with cougars on their website, which you can access by clicking here.
