Video Footage Shows Cougars Attacking Deer in Alberta Backyard

An Alberta family was on vacation in Edmonton when they received an alert from their home surveillance camera. When they checked it, they saw two cougars attacking a deer in their backyard.

"We personally have heard about cougars in the neighborhood, 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 told Calgary.ctvnews.com.

"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.

The footage shows two cougars cornering a deer and then one of the cougars going in for the kill.

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

"We have a 4-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 say these sorts of scenarios are becoming more common.

"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 Havens 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.