An imprint in the grass was the only evidence left behind Saturday afternoon by what Don Esterbrook saw several hours earlier. He said it was a wild cat, possibly a cougar.
He was working at the front desk of Motel 1 near Fermor Avenue between Lagimodiere Boulevard and Plessis Road, when a guest ran up and said there was a huge cat outside.
"It was seven feet long and about 200 pounds," said Esterbrook. "Both of us grabbed our phones to take a picture of it. As we fumbled with that, it got up-- three hops and it was gone."
Esterbrook says he has seen all kinds of wild animals around the motel, but he never dreamed he would see a cougar, especially within city limits.
Those who work with wild animals say on occasion some do wander into places they shouldn't be. They say the animals are often lost and looking for food.
"In most cases, they're spooked and scared and want to get out just as much as we want them out," said Dan Diawol, with the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre. "But with the traffic and the buildings and fences they're not used to, they will sometimes do unpredictable things."
But Diawol is skeptical the animal was in fact a cougar. He believes it could have been a bobcat, or a linx.
Police responded and searched the area but were unable to locate a cougar.
Police say this type of sighting is very rare and they don't believe it was a false alarm because several people saw the animal.
Officers are warning people not to approach the animal if they see it because they say wild cats are unpredictable and dangerous. Instead they should call police at 986-6222.
-- with a report by CTV's Jillian Taylor
