SPOKANE, Wash. — A South Hill woman got quite the surprise early Tuesday morning when her security camera revealed a fierce and furry visitor in her yard.
Around 3 a.m. on October 21, Mary Jo Stauner’s security camera captured footage of a large cougar casually strolling through her yard near 53rd and Crestline while she and her small dog slept.
Stauner didn’t discover the footage until later in the morning, when she was getting ready to walk her dog.
“My little dog Josie wanted to go outside at 5, and I just told her ‘no, we’re not going out there’ because it was still very dark out. I had no idea if the cougar was still hanging around,” Stauner said.
After seeing the video, Stauner immediately reached out to neighbors to warn them about the potential danger. She also contacted police and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to report the cougar sighting.
Stauner said she couldn’t believe the size of the cougar that walked right by her house. She noted that while various wildlife regularly passes through her backyard, nothing had prepared her to see a live cougar so close to her home.
Fish and Wildlife officials provided Stauner with safety tips for future cougar encounters. The guidance emphasizes the importance of never turning away from a cougar.
“Don’t ever turn around. Don’t ever have your back to a cougar. You want to appear as large as you can, and if you’re wearing a jacket or a coat, they suggest you open it and you spread yourself as wide as you can appear,” Stauner said.
Wildlife officials also recommend making as much noise as possible to scare off a cougar. If someone needs to defend themselves, they should use available objects like sticks and rocks to frighten the animal away.
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