Just read that it is now in the possession of the MNR- full of porcupine quills- they said it will eventually go on display- I have talked to a couple of game wardens in the past an they are sure that Ontario has a wild breeding population
Just read that it is now in the possession of the MNR- full of porcupine quills- they said it will eventually go on display- I have talked to a couple of game wardens in the past an they are sure that Ontario has a wild breeding population
My first guess is that it's an escaped pet and was starving and tried it's luck on a porcupine and didn't fare so good.
I shot a coyote this winter that had at least 100 quils on it, from head to toe. In it's mouth, nose and ears, it's paws were so infected it could hardly walk. I burned it behind the house in case it was sick with something. Never seen the likes before
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I agree. Unless it's rabid a truly wild cougar that has managed to evade people, trail cameras, death on the highway, etc., probably wouldn't be dumb enough to attack a porcupine.Quote:
Originally Posted by SongDog
I still won't be convinced of the existence of a breeding population until someone produces pictures of juveniles.
also reported on the weather network.. I guess this could still be an "escapee".. Anyhow if they are in the ThunderBay region, they could be anywhere in the province. The MNR no longer denies their existence.. I wonder if the population will increase? I suppose if ungulates are healthy, then yes...
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ne...ontario/80768/
A few years back I was very sceptical too... but its a massive province that is mostly still wilderness... The North is very sparsely populated. It is entirely conceivable that a small population could nearly and completely evade detection. But they haven't entirely b/c so many people have come forward with credible sightings... some have to be real/true.Quote:
Originally Posted by GW11
How many of us see wolves and they are very common throughout the province? if there are just a couple of hundred cougars then they could go mostly undetected.
And for what it's worth... The Michigan DNR confirms that they have them in the Upper Penn. That's a hop, skip and a jump from Ontario...http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...sula/18809367/
Boy these things can really travel far...
"The DNR believes the cougars probably moved into Michigan after traveling east from the Dakotas, where there is an established population.
“They end up in the U.P. looking for a mate,” Munson Badini said.“When they can’t find one, they usually move farther east or go back to the Dakotas. We had one cougar that ended up in Connecticut and was hit by a car. DNA testing showed it was the same animal that was in Michigan earlier.”
The taxidermist that has the cat said that it indeed does have claws and while not proof of being a truly wild cougar it is another piece of the puzzle.
https://www.oodmag.com/news/mnrf-pos...r-thunder-bay/
I do not see why there is so much denial, nobody trusted someones word so they got pictures, then people did not trust the picture and said they wanted a body, not they have a body. It may have been dumb to attack a porcupine but how many porcupines had that animal gone up against? If this particular cat did not see them very often how would it even know that this was a problem? Dogs go after porcupines and although some are dumb most are not, not much different than a wolf or coyote.
I remember people saying that you need to find a body to prove it but you do not find many animal bodies in the bush, rarely a deer, almost never a bear but there are lots of bears around and tons and tons of deer.
No one is denying the possibility even with pictures. Majority of the time 99% it has been proven that they were escapees from exotic animal farm or people someone having one as a pet and it was either let go or it escaped. They are elusive yes, they are not that common in this neck of the woods.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox