A cougar is making its presence known near Estevan after a citizen discovered evidence of a recent kill. 

In a Facebook post on March 4, a post was made that contained pictures of what looked to be large cat prints in the snow, along with blood and the dead carcass of a deer that had been covered in leaves.

Just over a week later another post was made by someone who had set up a trail camera at the site and had managed to snap a few pictures of the cougar.

Both those posts were sent to conservation officers in the area, including Lindsey Leko who says that there is a multitude of reasons why a cougar may have shown up near the city.

"That river system around Estevan is some prime area for a cat, they'll travel along those corridors. the territory for a cat is pretty big, and there's a possibility that there's one of two things: either a cat that's just kind of patrolling its own territory, or it's a juvenile that got kicked out and is looking for its own territory."

Leko says that they're looking to have the cougar naturally move away from populated areas, as the alternative is difficult and time-consuming.

"It's something that we're aware of, but I don't think it's anything that we'll really be active on it. I think we're just gonna kind of let nature take its course and kinda hope it moves on, and kinda go on from there. Trying to track a cougar is very difficult, different when you have it in a location where you can effectively tranquilize it."

He also says cougars tend to be nocturnal, so the most likely times to encounter one would be near dawn or in the evening.