Young male cougar spotted in Bonners

Bonners Ferry residents on the North Hill are on high alert after a cougar was spotted in Jim Marx’s driveway home Thursday morning.

Marx was sitting at his dining room table when he saw an adolescent male cougar looking at him.

The Marx subdivision is one of the more populated housing areas in Bonners Ferry.  

“I watched him walk up the driveway onto the stairs and he walked the area like he had been there before,” Marx said. “He looked like a house pet just wandering around the yard and then went up the stairs to the retaining wall.”

Marx said the cougar looked to be three-quarters grown.

He said the cougar wasn’t nervous or agitated. The animal acted like it belonged there.

Marx even managed to get a photos as the cougar walked around his yard.

“He didn’t looked real concerned that he was in a neighborhood,” he said.

Marx said that younger male cougars often are chased off from their habitat by older male cougars and into more populated areas. 

The cougar is probably just trying to find his way in the world. 

“Or maybe he is looking for cat food or dog food, or maybe he is just looking for the easy way of life,”  Marx said.

Bonners Ferry Police Chief Rick Alonzo said if anyone is able to tree the cougar, to call the sheriff’s office. 

“Greg Johnson at Idaho Department of Fish and Game has been told about it and said anyone able to tree the animal can call and Fish and Game so they can come out and dart him and relocate  him,” Alonzo said.

Neighbors in the area have reported dogs barking at odd hours of the early morning and some have said they noticed their dogs being more nervous or agitated over the past week.

There have been no reports of the cougar attacking animals or pets and people are asked to just be aware of their surroundings and on the look out.

Relatively few people catch a glimpse of a cougar much less confront one and cougar attacks on humans are extremely rare.  The cougar has been seen in daylight hours  and law enforcement just wants people to be aware and safe.

Anyone spotting the cougar should immediately call the sheriff’s office at 267-3151 or Greg Johnson at the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game at 267-7629.