Cougar sighted outside city hotel

A surprising morning for those inside a Winnipeg hotel after it’s believed a cougar was spotted in the parking lot of Motel One Winnipeg around 8 a.m. Saturday.

"I slapped myself in the face, looked at it a couple times, and sure enough there was a big cat right out there," said Konrad Sandy, who saw the animal outside of his room’s window.

He rushed to the front desk of the hotel just of Fermor Avenue near Lagimodiere BoulEvard.

"The guest came up and said there was a big cat outside his room so I figured he was talking about this feral cat we have around here somewhere," said Don Estabrook, who was working at the time and called the police.

Estabrook said it was much more than a house cat and was at least 7 feet long and around 200 pounds, however no one was quick enough to catch the creature on camera.

"We started walking over there towards it, three bounces and it was in the bush," said Estabrook.

That is the last anyone saw of the supposed cougar. Police said it headed towards the Symington rail yards and Manitoba Conservation is looking into.

That is little comfort for those living in the neighbourhood.

"That’s nervous for us because we live right here, we don’t want that to happen here," said Shirley Sovidija, who lives across from where it was spotted. "We are hoping conservation can come and catch the animal, that’s wrong."

Cougar sightings are extremely rare in this province. Only a handful of sightings are reported to Manitoba Conservation every year but they are difficult to prove.

If you do see the creature, back away slowly and don’t run, then call police.