Skip to content

Cougar spotted at B.C. hospital

The cougar was sitting next to a glass window on an outdoor garden box
11390538_web1_30531175_10157201515732506_6885015940526768128_n
FACEBOOK PHOTO/ DANI ELLE Cougar sitting on an outdoor planter box at the Port Hardy Hospital on April 10.

Hospital workers got an up close and personal view of wildlife when they spotted a cougar sitting on a garden box outside the building at the Port Hardy Hospital on north east Vancouver Island.

Hospital employee Danielle Nye snapped photos of the animal during the Tuesday morning sighting and uploaded them Facebook, where they were quickly shared to the community’s North Island Wildlife Awareness Facebook group.

“Just another average day at the hospital in port hardy…” wrote Nye in the post.

RCMP and Conservation were called to the scene.

The cougar was also spotted around 10:45 a.m. crossing the highway near Klassen’s Car Dealership, a few blocks away, before it was spotted at the hospital around noon.

RELATED: Cougar kills dog in Port Alice

This sighting comes after many cougar sightings that have been ongoing in communities throughout the North Island.

In late March and early April, a cougar reportedly attacked and killed a dog at the Cluxewe Resort near Port McNeill and another cougar killed a dog in the Village of Port Alice.

North Island communities have been on alert since late December and early January when a dog was killed in Port Hardy after multiple cougar sightings.

According to the Vancouver Island Wilderness and Historical Conservation, “Of the estimated 4000 cougars in Canada, 3500 live in BC. Of this, nearly a quarter reside on Vancouver Island (itself only representing 3% of BC’s land area), resulting in the highest concentration of cougars in the world.”

11390538_web1_30531366_10157201515292506_6078946266643955712_n
FACEBOOK PHOTO/ DANI ELLE Cougar making itself at home at the Port Hardy Hospital.
11390538_web1_30571524_10157201516027506_5521525490910756864_n
FACEBOOK PHOTO/ DANI ELLE Cougar leaving after about ten minutes of haning out at the Port Hardy Hosptial.