Over the past few weeks, more and more large animals have been photographed in lower elevations, specifically neighborhoods and communities where they’re typically not seen.
These animals include deer, elk, moose and cougars, which have been spotted on surveillance cameras or by people simply looking out their window during the day.
This time I was just looking through my camera,” said Allen Boettcher, who noticed a cougar trot across his driveway in Ogden. “I usually look at the late night or the early morning stuff, daytime stuff I just delete, but then I noticed, and I went ‘oh check that out.’”
Boettcher has lived in the area for 16 years. This is his third time seeing a mountain lion on his camera. He said that just days before the cougar walked through his yard, a bunch of deer were also on his property.
“Deer usually are the first animal that will move down in elevation they’re looking for snow conditions that aren’t quite as severe,” said Mark Hadley, the Northern Region Outreach Manager with Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources. “Deer are the main animal that cougars prey on so as the deer come down out of the mountains the cougars just follow them right down they’re following their prey source, it’s all about finding something to eat.”
Hadley said that it’s the deep snow at higher elevations which has sent some of the larger animals into valley locations, specifically neighborhoods along the benches.
“When we’ve had winters like this in the past, same thing has happened,” said Hadley, who stresses that the migration of these large animals is purely food-related.
With recent storm cycles and latest weather patterns, it’s likely that more and more animals will continue to venture into more urban areas until the seasons change.
Most encounters with these large species have had a peaceful outcome. However, earlier this month, a moose wandered onto a property in Provo where it got into a confrontation with a family dog. The dog didn’t survive.
“The main thing folks can do to keep themselves safe and also to help the wildlife out, is to keep your distance when you see wildlife,” said Hadley, who said that keeping your distance not only can keep you safe, but allows the animals to conserve energy that is needed for the rest of the winter.