News staff
There are unconfirmed reports of a cougar in the area near McTavish Rd. and Cresswell Rd. According to media reports, several posters in the Sidney Mom’s Buy/Sell/Swap Facebook group heard screams they attributed to a cougar near the former McTavish school and the sight of a “large animal” escaping a yard after a dog started barking.
A resident of the area who wished to remain anonymous provided similar details to the Peninsula News Review, saying he heard several cries between Wednesday night and Thursday morning which he believed to come from a cougar. He says he reported it to the Sidney/North Saanich RCMP and they searched the area with an infrared scope, but he says officers did not spot the cougar.
Sidney/North Saanich RCMP have not yet responded to a request for comment.