A COUGAR IS TAKEN DOWN

Matter of perspective: Cougar isn't biggest after all

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Logging in the eastern forests, human settlement, and habitat disturbance from activities like mining are responsible for the sharp drop in Cougar populations. If the Eastern Cougar does still exist, it is possible the population may recover if deer populations increase and forests grow again on the existing logged land.

The Eastern Cougar has been declared extinct by the U. Fish and Wildlife Service. According to news reports, Scientists had held out hope, based on scattered reports, that a few Eastern Cougars remained.

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Those sightings turned out to be other subspecies from the Western United States, or captive animals that were freed or had escaped. During the twentieth century, Cougars were reported in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, but some of the sightings proved to be encounters with Cougars from other areas that had escaped from captivity.

There is no objective evidence actual Cougar specimens or other unequivocal confirmation of the continuous presence of Cougars in eastern Canada since the nineteenth century. For example, since that time, no Cougars have been reported killed in Ontario, and the one animal killed in Quebec, in , had escaped from captivity.

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Until there is confirmation that the Eastern Cougar still survives, no direct recovery actions will take place for this species. Despite this, their population does not seem to have increased.

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The deer population in New Brunswick is high enough to support Cougars. However, logging, mining, and other activities have driven Cougars away in search of areas that are free from human disturbance.

In order for the Eastern Cougar to survive, areas of land must be protected from human activity. Eastern cougar Vital Signs Common name: Unknown The Facts Females have two to four kittens every two to three years in late winter or mid-summer. Cubs stay with their mothers for up to two years, learning the complicated hunting techniques of Cougars. Except for mothers and cubs, Cougars are usually shy and solitary. They have a long tail with a black tip and black markings on the backs of the ears and around the muzzle.

Eastern Cougar

Masters of camouflage, Cougars usually hunt at night and rarely chase their prey. A Cougar will locate its prey by scent or sound, slink forward slowly and silently, then pounce when the prey is within reach. Cougars are excellent swimmers and climbers. They can also jump more than six metres. Cougars travel long distances for food, often using the same routes and marking their territories with scratched scent posts.

The fact that a large cat could live and kill without notice in a densely populated trailer park is a testament to their stealth hunting ability and instinct to survive and protect their young. As a result of their adaptability, cougars have the largest range of any large cat in the world.

Field Notes

Historically they have occupied most of the Americas, ranging from coast to coast, and from the southern tip of the Yukon Territory, to the Southern tip of Chili. They live in a variety of habitats, from the swamps of Florida to Canadian Boreal Forest. Cougars, like household cats, are notably fastidious. From the carcass, rounded, clawless tracks led to a bedding site nestled under a spruce tree. The neat freak side of cougar behaviour fits well with their solitary, wary and territorial nature. We rarely see them or evidence of them , although they most certainly see us.

A Jasper photographer famously took a picture of a family under a tree at a local resort, only to notice upon development that a cougar was hanging out in the branches directly over their heads. They are experts at blending in, and it is definitely possible to walk by one in a wooded or grassy area and not know it. Although capable of sprinting, they tend to stalk prey quietly and undercover, before powerfully leaping upon them and delivering a suffocating bite to the neck.

There is evidence they seek out prey that is more vulnerable. One study found that female ungulates deer family accounted for a higher proportion of cougar diet in the spring, just prior to and after birthing. The proportion of male ungulates eaten increased in the fall during the rut when males are more pre-occupied with fighting each other and trying to mate all the ladies. It is thousands of times more likely that harm will come to me in the form of a car accident, and I try to let this fact be the pole that guides my fear compass.

• Works of Mary Wollstonecraft
• World Economic Outlook, April 2005: Globalization and External Balances
• Introduction to Consulting Forestry
• Das Armutsverständnis des Franziskus von Assisi (German Edition)
• Una terapia al bacio (Italian Edition)
• On a Darkling Plain: Victorian Poetry and Thought