Ontario Cougars!

IR_Mike said:
f:P:f:P:

And of course no one took pics.

We have that same problem with cougar reintroduction pics in Alberta.

Cougars seem to be able to render modern electronic devices inoperable.

:onCrack::onCrack:
Click to expand...

Not everyone is a photography geek and has a camera on them at all times. Sue me.
 
Whew.
Only ever seen some sharp edged tracks, have I.
Never the real thing all served up clear photo'd as irreputable proof, so, ... either there are cougar ghosts out there making tracks in CENTRAL. ONT., or all those decades of my time in the bush were, like those tracks, .... imagination.

It pleases me to know they are out there. And they are.
 
JCCC said:
Not everyone is a photography geek and has a camera on them at all times. Sue me.
Click to expand...

Cell phones have cameras in them these days and even non-geeks have phones.

Not picking on you but every person that has ever claimed to see this has no proof.

The other common claim is a map of cougar release sites.

Every hillbilly claims to have fridge magneted one till asked to produce it.....it is suddenly lost.

Then the whole multiple animal release story.

Except for breeding these animals are solitary and usually fight if others of the species are encountered outside of the breeding season, but still people claim to see multiple animals released at the same time.

A few years ago on the AO board one person claimed his grandpa seen one every day but for some inexplicable reason failed to shoot it.

He claimed the cat was from a release of get this 50 animals that were released to control the local deer population in our area.

If the release you claimed to see happened on private land maybe the land owner can supply his consent form or the map that MNR would release.
 
Last edited:
IR_Mike said:
Cell phones have cameras in them these days and even non-geeks have phones.

Not picking on you but every person that has ever claimed to see this has no proof.
Click to expand...

I understand you are not picking on me but some people still don't have cell phones and never will. This was eight years ago and the cell phone I had then did not have a camera on it. Electronics have advanced a lot in the past two years.
 
OK, I've never seen a cougar in the wild.

However, the growl that I heard, immediately after the snap of a twig, immediately to my right as I was lying down glassing the trail with my buddy and his girlfriend was not imaginary. It was loud, it sounded annoyed and it made all of us turn around and stare at the clump of trees that was just 5-feet or so to my right.

I couldn't see anything, but my rifle was cocked and ready. Truth be told, if she-who-doesn't-exist were to have jumped out of that clump of trees, I doubt if it would've made a difference. Yes, it was that close. It sounded like she/it/figment of imagination that all three of us had at the same time, was sitting right NEXT to me.

What other critter do we have out Harrison's lake area that growls? Truth be told, I've never heard one before. But it made my hair stand.:D
 
We've got lots of Cougars around the Park ( Elkwater). The odd one wanders through, though I'm the only one who hasn't seen one.
Bro-in-law was bowhunting north of the house on the old Ross creek line and saw one.
I grabbed the SKS & the Rotti and trotted out there ( He'd called me on cell...scared). I never saw it but there was a full grown doe in the willows with leaves covering her. Coyotes don't do that.
Father-in-law saw one crossing the #1 highway on the Ross creek bed about a month ago.
I've got 2 Great Pyrnee's and an antique 41 LC so it's not a huge issue. I still go shooting Beaver on the creek...just pay more attention is all.
Little spooky I admit; but the cougars havn't attacked anybody in recorded memory. The deer must keep them well fed.
Folks see them pretty regular in the park, way more so than at my place.
 
As illusive as these big cat are, I think the recent popularity of Trail cameras will soon answer this question, one way or another.
 
Cougars have an unbelievable ability to travel distances in a short tim. You would be naive to think that over time, even if not reintroduced by the MNR, they wouldn't eventually make their way into Ontario.
 
This weekend, Up near Orillia On Long Lake, My cousin and I took Photographs of Paw prints, and Scat. Both of wich look like Cougar. Not only were there a large cat print, but 2 sets of small matching prints. Fresh on a muddy trail that had not been passed on for a few days. I have a copy of the photo with a 3 1/2" shell beside it.
 
Well as most of you, I've been on the fence most of my life as to cougars' existance in Ontario, specifically Northern On, where I am from. Hearing third part stories from someone's brother or cousin or what not who have seen them (most with little or no real world bush experience or species knowledge)... I'm more of a "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see" kind of guy. I rarely believe things until I see them for myself.

I was harshly shoved off the fence this weekend.

Me and a good friend of mine, both Northern Ontario boys who grew up in the bush, were out hunting some grouse and walking some trails up 144 (between sudbury and the watershed) coming up to a crest in the trail heading around a corner and 30-40 feet in front of us was a full blown cougar. He took off into the bush at a high rate of speed. It was in broad daylight about 4pm on a sunny day. No, it wasn't a fisher, a lynx or a bobcat (I've see all of the above and have almost been attacked by a bobcat). I knew what I saw and when I looked over at my buddy, I was reassured by the look on his face as well. We did not get pictures as we saw it for a mere 2 seconds or so and equipeed only with a .410 and a bow, nedless to say we were not sticking around to examine for tracks.

Take it for what it's worth, I could really care less. However, this is my FIRST HAND account of what I saw with my own eyes making me a believer.
 
madtrapper143 said:
I trapped for over 25 years all over Ontario. (south and north) I never crossed a track or scat or a deer kill covered. I have reviewed local sightings closely by talking with the witness. These facts ALWAYS emerge #1: it was dark #2: they were alone #3: during the time of year when there was no snow for tracking #4: over elaborate tales of cat behaviour including stretching and slinking #5: had yellow eyes #6: (no offence) but 90% of people who saw a cougar were female? I feel that if any legitimate sightings exist they were of escaped "pets" or the person just honestly thought they seen a cougar. Just my two cents bring on the flame.

regards, Darryl
Click to expand...


Hard to believe, but people have even reported house cats as being cougar sightings.

Grizz
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2008/05/16/cougar-spotting.html

I live 9 miles south of where this photo was taken. I have heard of several other sightings within 20 miles of here, both before and after the photo was taken. Some are believable, others not at all, but the fact remains that this cougar was hanging around someone's yard in broad daylight. I suspect most of you haven't been to Plum Coulee, so I'll let you know that it is a small town in the middle of a flat, densely populated farming community. What we call "bush" around here is a group of 10 or more trees that has not been planted in a straight row (AKA as a shelterbelt). This would not be considered cougar territory. About a year ago there was even a "cougar expert" from Minnesota, IIRC, that came out to Altona (another local town) to address people's concerns and share some knowledge. I wasn't there, but he confirmed that cougars likely followed the Red River up from Minnesota to Southern Manitoba, but are not likely to "settle down" or repopulate in this area.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/01/14/mb-cougar-trap-boissevain-manitoba.html

The man from this story was one of the instructors in a trapping course that I attended just before this happened. Unfortunately this article doesn't have the picture, but I saw it posted on Manitoba Hunters Forum shortly after it made the news. It was a big cougar caught in a Ram Power Snare. This happened much further west of where I live, but it is still not considered common cougar territory either.

Now I realize that Southern Manitoba is not Ontario, but if we have confirmed cougars here, I would expect that somewhere in Ontario there could be one. Or even two. There will always be false sightings, but I have no doubt that the first-hand sightings reported in this thread are true.
 
This is what you call a confirmed sighting. :) Greeted me when I came to work about a week ago. Cat was killing sheep and the farmer and local hunter caught up with it about an hour before I arrived.

404005748.jpg


Grizz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom