A cougar has been tranquilized and removed from downtown Victoria after several sightings near the B.C. Legislature.
The big cat was first seen just after 7 p.m. on Sunday in the 1900-block of Alma Place.
It is believed the same cat was spotted at 3 a.m. this morning at Menzies Street and Quebec Street, right outside the B.C. Legislature.
Police also spotted it in the 200-block of Michigan Street.
They followed it for a few hours with a dog team. Eventually the Conservation Officer Service was able to tranquilize it and take it away.
Parents and caregivers were told to accompany their children to school this morning due to the cougar sighting.
Conservation Officer Peter Pauwels said the cougar was running around in peoples’ backyards and they eventually caught it when it was hiding in a bush in a parking lot.
“It’s a young male, it’s not full grown yet,” he said. “I would estimate it weighs around 80 pounds or so. It looks in pretty good condition, a little on the thin side, but not too bad.”
In 1992, a male cougar was tranquilized and taken away after being cornered by dogs in the Empress Hotel.
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