The northern B.C. town of Kitimat is becoming a dangerous place for kitties and residents say a family of wolverines is to blame.
As of Thursday, more than 80 cats have gone missing, while sightings of four wolverines – a male, female and two young – have been reported around town.
“They’re the most vicious animals I know,” mayor Joanne Monaghan told The Province. “They can kill a bear, an elk, a deer.”
While there have been no reports of wolverines attacking humans, townspeople are concerned the predators might go after a child next.
“It scares the crap out of me,” said Monaghan. “I’m concerned about my community, especially the kids. I can see a situation where a young child seeing their cat being attacked might try to save the pet and get attacked by the wolverine.”
Monaghan said the feline disappearances began in May when two residents reported their cats missing. A resident who lives a block away witnessed his cat being viciously attacked by a large wolverine.
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“He ran out, the wolverine dropped the cat, but the cat was already dead,” said Monaghan.
The wolverine retreated to the bushes, but continued to growl while the family buried the cat in the yard.
In this small community of 8,000 where each household averages two to four cats and where wildlife lurks in the forested areas around town, the occasional missing cat isn’t out of the ordinary.
But when the calls kept coming, Maryann Baumbach, manager of the local animal shelter, knew it has to be more than just foxes and coyotes.
“We’ve never ever had sightings of wolverines in all my time at the shelter and I’ve been there 16 years,” she said.
Most of the missing cats are from a neighbourhood in upper Kitimat surrounded by bush with a gully running across backyards, added Baumbach, who is worried the creatures are becoming bolder.
“It’s a concern. They’re presenting themselves to people and doing it in the daytime. If they’re being that aggressive towards people’s pets, what is going to happen when a child is with a pet?”
Wolverine sightings are extremely rare in B.C. The stocky bear-like creatures typically live in forests and the tundra and are known as opportunistic eaters that prey on small rodents as well as larger creatures like elk and caribou.
Monaghan said conservation officers initially didn’t want to do anything because wolverines are not a threat to humans.
Last week an officer arrived to set a trap, but has not been successful.
Aside from two confirmed cases, there is no proof the other missing cats were eaten by wolverines. But Monaghan said they don’t need bodies to put two and two together.
“Where else would they go? We’ve never had cats missing before.”
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