Rare sighting of mother cougar and juvenile on Vancouver Island as activists push for forest conservation

Conservation photographer TJ Watt had mere seconds to take a photo of a mother cougar before it disappeared into the forest last weekend in Vancouver Island’s Walbran Valley.

He says the encounter reminded him how important it was to conserve the region’s old-growth forest.

Watt had just returned to his car when a large couger bounded out onto the road in front of him and paused before crossed onto the other side, into the forest. A smaller, juvenile cougar followed and Watt managed to capture a video of it.

“I’ve always dreamed of seeing a cougar,” said Watt, who explores the old growth forest in the area several times a week.

This was his first time encountering a cougar, he said in a written release from the Ancient Forest Alliance.

“The sighting underscores the great need for the B.C. govenrment to protect the remaining old-growth forests of the Walbran Valley and of cross the province, before it is turned into a sea of stumps.”

Walbran Valley is located in the southwest part of Vancouver Island and is home to some of the oldest and largest trees in Canada. About 40 per cent of the valley is protected from logging while the rest is still subject to old-growth logging.

[Original Metro News article no longer available]