- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
More than 500 cougars sightings since 2002
Posted By John Chambers
Posted 2 days ago
Dr. Rick Rosatte, senior research scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said more than 500 local cougar sightings have been reported to the MNR and the Ontario Puma Foundation since 2002.
With reports coming in from across the City of Kawartha Lakes, Rosatte is hoping a new research study will turn up information on how many cougars are in Ontario and where they are originating.
"There have been approximately 500 sightings reported since 2002 to MNR and the Ontario Puma Foundation, the problem is that obviously no one has time to go out and investigate every single sighting," he said.
"I have investigated many in the Lindsay, Bobcaygeon, Sunderland and Janetville area in the last year-and-a-half, and I am pretty convinced some people are seeing what is most likely a cougar."
To help determine the origin of the cougars Rosatte has set up a number of cameras and hair traps in hopes of catching a glimpse - either photographic or DNA - of the elusive big cat.
"I have set up a number of cameras in the Manilla area and down towards Bethany, as well as hair traps, but so far I have no gotten any cougar hairs or photographs," he said.
While his attempts to this point have proved fruitless, Rosatte said he isn't surprised given an adult male cougar will travel in an area up to 1,000 square kilometres.
"Just because it was in Manilla today, it may not be back for two or three months because it is travelling all the time. They are travelling all of the time looking for prey," he said.
Rosatte said he believes any cougars that are in the area are more likely to be in the vicinity of one of two large deer yards in the city.
"My thinking is that in the wintertime when there is a severe winter and deer are yarding up they are probably keying into the deer yarding areas - there is a huge deer yard in the Janetville area and one near Bobcaygeon," he said.
"My theory is that perhaps if there are cougars they are probably in those areas because that is where the deer would be."
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Deer are the mainstay of a cougar's diet, comprising 80 to 90 percent of the cat's total food intake.
While hard data has been difficult to come by locally for Rosatte, the growing amount of tangible proof in Ontario is on the rise.
"The evidence we have of cougars in Ontario right now is two sets of confirmed prints south of Kenora, the DNA evidence from a scat sample collected in the Niagara area in 2004, and there is photographic evidence from the Orillia area," Rosatte said.
"We have these bits and pieces of evidence proving there are cougars in Ontario, but our next task is trying to figure out how many there are and what their distribution are, and most importantly where they are coming from."
Given the increasing number of sightings reported in the area, the doctor said there is no reason for any concern by farmers or the general public.
"Based on studies out west, 80 to 90 percent of their prey is deer," he said.
"In Ontario if there are cougars around there are so many deer around why go after a domestic animal? Out west the number of domestics that are attacked are very, very low.
"I think farmers would have much more to worry about with coyotes, wolves and dogs attacking their livestock than a cougar."
Rosatte noted that while cougars are extremely solitary animals, currently on the endangered species list, if one is observed his advice would be the same for any wild animal.
"Don't approach them, avoid them and walk away slowly," he said.
- jchambers@thepost.ca
Article ID# 851155
Posted By John Chambers
Posted 2 days ago
Dr. Rick Rosatte, senior research scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said more than 500 local cougar sightings have been reported to the MNR and the Ontario Puma Foundation since 2002.
With reports coming in from across the City of Kawartha Lakes, Rosatte is hoping a new research study will turn up information on how many cougars are in Ontario and where they are originating.
"There have been approximately 500 sightings reported since 2002 to MNR and the Ontario Puma Foundation, the problem is that obviously no one has time to go out and investigate every single sighting," he said.
"I have investigated many in the Lindsay, Bobcaygeon, Sunderland and Janetville area in the last year-and-a-half, and I am pretty convinced some people are seeing what is most likely a cougar."
To help determine the origin of the cougars Rosatte has set up a number of cameras and hair traps in hopes of catching a glimpse - either photographic or DNA - of the elusive big cat.
"I have set up a number of cameras in the Manilla area and down towards Bethany, as well as hair traps, but so far I have no gotten any cougar hairs or photographs," he said.
While his attempts to this point have proved fruitless, Rosatte said he isn't surprised given an adult male cougar will travel in an area up to 1,000 square kilometres.
"Just because it was in Manilla today, it may not be back for two or three months because it is travelling all the time. They are travelling all of the time looking for prey," he said.
Rosatte said he believes any cougars that are in the area are more likely to be in the vicinity of one of two large deer yards in the city.
"My thinking is that in the wintertime when there is a severe winter and deer are yarding up they are probably keying into the deer yarding areas - there is a huge deer yard in the Janetville area and one near Bobcaygeon," he said.
"My theory is that perhaps if there are cougars they are probably in those areas because that is where the deer would be."
Advertisement
Deer are the mainstay of a cougar's diet, comprising 80 to 90 percent of the cat's total food intake.
While hard data has been difficult to come by locally for Rosatte, the growing amount of tangible proof in Ontario is on the rise.
"The evidence we have of cougars in Ontario right now is two sets of confirmed prints south of Kenora, the DNA evidence from a scat sample collected in the Niagara area in 2004, and there is photographic evidence from the Orillia area," Rosatte said.
"We have these bits and pieces of evidence proving there are cougars in Ontario, but our next task is trying to figure out how many there are and what their distribution are, and most importantly where they are coming from."
Given the increasing number of sightings reported in the area, the doctor said there is no reason for any concern by farmers or the general public.
"Based on studies out west, 80 to 90 percent of their prey is deer," he said.
"In Ontario if there are cougars around there are so many deer around why go after a domestic animal? Out west the number of domestics that are attacked are very, very low.
"I think farmers would have much more to worry about with coyotes, wolves and dogs attacking their livestock than a cougar."
Rosatte noted that while cougars are extremely solitary animals, currently on the endangered species list, if one is observed his advice would be the same for any wild animal.
"Don't approach them, avoid them and walk away slowly," he said.
- jchambers@thepost.ca
Article ID# 851155
