Skip to content

Trio of wildlife visit Vernon yard in 15-hour span

Cougar, bobcat, coyote caught on game camera by Okanagan Landing resident
31827597_web1_230216-VMS-wildlife-pics-WILDLIFE_2
In a recent 15-hour span, Vernon resident Scott Spencer’s yard on Eastside Road in Okanagan Landing was visited by a cougar (top left), a bobcat (middle) and a coyote (bottom left). (Contributed)

Wildlife visiting near his Okanagan Landing yard? Heck, Scott Spencer has a lot of them.

He has deer sauntering by. Wild turkeys. Lots of coyotes. One even tried to take off with one of Spencer’s three dogs in its mouth.

Male and female bobcats? Got ‘em, too.

But it was the big cat that caught Spencer by surprise.

In a recent 15-hour span, Spencer caught on his newly installed game camera 50 feet from his Eastside Landing front door a cougar going by his deer fence at 6:17 p.m.

At 2:30 a.m. a bobcat can be seen in nearly the same location. Then, at 9:30 a.m. there’s a picture of a coyote.

Spencer shared his photos to remind his neighbours and area residents that the animals are out and about.

“I’ve been in the outdoors a lot in my life but I’m not sure how often that happens,” said Spencer of the trio of four-legged visitors caught by the camera, which he installed after a coyote grabbed one of his dogs.

Spencer ran after the coyote who was carrying the dog in its mouth, getting to within about 12 feet of the coyote before it released the dog from its grip. The dog has recovered from the ordeal.

Spencer moved into his Okanagan Landing home on Nov. 1.

“It’s like Wild Kingdom around here,” he said. “I don’t know what it is about the wild turkeys but there’s about 50 to 60 of them within three-quarters of a kilometre of my place.”

READ MORE: North Okanagan trail closed while BC Hydro makes upgrades

READ MORE: ‘It’s not fair’: Long road ahead for B.C. transit improvements



roger@vernonmorningstar.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.



Roger Knox

About the Author: Roger Knox

I am a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. I started my career in radio and have spent the last 21 years working with Black Press Media.
Read more