Alberta family captures cougars attacking deer on back-door camera

Cougar attacks deer in Alta. backyard An Alberta family’s security camera captured footage of a cougar killing a deer in their backyard. Quinn Keenan reports.

WARNING: This story contains an image that might be disturbing 

COLEMAN, Alta. — While on vacation in Edmonton, the Havens family received a motion alert from the back-door camera at their home in Coleman in the Crowsnest Pass.

When they checked, they were shocked to see a deer being attacked by cougars in their backyard.

"We personally have heard about cougars in the neighbourhood, but we haven't ever seen them. They're pretty elusive - they kind of hang around during the night and sleep during the day," Derek Havens said.

"We haven't had anything this crazy happen before. We've had foxes and a lot of skunks in our backyard. I've seen an owl, once. But nothing this crazy," said Derek's son, Rolland.

Two cougars were involved in the attack that happened last Thursday.

They cornered the deer before one of the cougars went in for the kill.

Seeing the cougars on their property has the Havenses concerned.

"It's a little bit disconcerting. We've got three young kids," Derek Havens said

"We have a four-year-old that plays in that yard and he was playing in that yard last week right around where that cougar attacked that deer, so it's just a good warning and a good lesson."

Residents of the Crowsnest Pass are no strangers to encountering wildlife, but as humans continue to develop land, these sorts of scenarios are becoming more common, according to experts.

"We are encroaching more into wild places and spaces. And as our toys and tools let us go further and deeper, too, that obviously brings more potential for conflict. I'd say on the whole, we're seeing a bit more of that meeting of wild and urban," said Everett Hanna, a member of the environmental sciences faculty at Lethbridge College.

The Havenses are planning on some new security measures to help keep everyone safe.

"Between like five and 10 deer sometimes will be in our yard at a time, so we're going to put some fences up so the deer don't come into our yard. Then, the deer aren't in there so the cougars and predators will not have any intentions of going in our yard," said Rolland Havens.