Possible Cougar sighting south of Algonquin Park? Way South - Carleton Place to be exact.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Area+captures+possible+cougar+sighting+video/6345099/story.html

Looks a little small imo, definitely not a lynx or bobcat (each with stubby tails).

and let the gatineau cougar jokes begin.

Cougars are back, my brother and I spotted one at the base of the Eardley Escarpment in Gatineau Park in 1999.

Carleton Place is 30 minutes west/south-west of Ottawa and east of the park, not even close to southern algonquin.

Wow that's crazy, one thing though the colours make it seem like it is a lynx however lynx have short tails not long ones like this, so it is possible that it's a cougar. Never seen a cougar that was gray though, I figured they were all yellowish in colour, can anyone weigh in on this?

LOL EGB!

For those who may not know where Carleton Place is located, it's ~130 km south-east of the park or a 1.5 hr drive away to her south-east corner (Barron Canyon rd).

That's a little too close to the family cottage for my liking. I'll be keeping the dogs on ropes this year if the sightings go any further West.

it's about time someone got one on video. The Ottawa area has had alot of sightings. A woman saw one cross the 417 at bayshore a few years ago, and 2 of my neighbors have seen them- including a mother and 2 kittens.

Recently saw a show on a video of a 'cougar' The video made it look enourmous. So what was done was a human then stood in the exact same spot and what was clear was the tree the 'cougar' was standing by was enourmous and therefore made the human look very small despite the fact that he was 6'. As it turns out the 'cougar' was the size a large house cat.

Hard to say size of animal with nothing in the background to provide a depth of field or scale in size.

I'd be willing to bet Derek knows the difference between a house cat and a cougar, and wouldnt have filmed a cat and sent it to a newspaper.

holy cow...

I would have expected to you one in a more secluded area.

to see you in that area would be quite the sight.....the area round the sighting is rural but there is lots of residences etc.

it exciting to see they are making a resurgence

71

I'll give all of you a million dollars if that sighting turns out to be real. It's a house cat. It's very hard to get the right sense of scale in locations like that/shaky handheld video footage.

As long as cougar sightings are just that--sightings--I don't believe them. Our perceptions play tricks on us. Doubt me? Try this video, if you haven't already...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4

Where I grew up in Grey county there has been Cougar sightings for over 15 years, even a photograph in the local paper. I had an experience with a large cat(I mean huge)just outside Owen sound on the Bruce Trail. It was in a cave along the escarpment with only it's cat eyes glowing. I have never been as scared in my life, hair raised on the back of my neck, and am certain it was a cougar.

There is a theory that the MNR is very hesitant to confirm any of the hundreds of sightings because that would make the cougar endangered in Ontario. They would then have to support the reintroduction of the feline predator. Can you imagine the uproar from farmers when they start losing animals to cougars whose population is growing thanks to the work of the government.

You don't have to believe in any of the sightings but go to any rural town in southern Ontario and you will likely find honest people with real stories about the cougar.

Jeremy

Cougars are even further south and west. Lots of sightings in the Orangeville area for years now. 2 were spotted in my neighbours backyard last summer.

I've spoken with several locals in the area near Kingscote who swear to their presence particularly from stories due to local farmers. No personal experience myself though.

Pretty scary story about glowing eyes in a cave.

I really don't understand what the big deal is ... when I came to Ottawa in 1991 I used to see them all the time ... it's easy to find them ... just hop a cab and head to Maxwells Bistro on any friday or saturday evening ... there's lots there ... they were really friendly to most people but for some reason wanted nothing to do with me ...

(sorry but noone was making any cougar jokes so I had to ...)

I agree it's hard for us to gauge scale in the video, but are you saying that Derek and his wife couldnt judge the size in their own backyard? I see house cats all the time on my rural property, never once have I felt the urge to freak out and grab a video camera. House cats average around 30 inches overall, and cougars anywhere from 5-9 FEET. I think witness misidentification is highly unlikely. I've also heard the MNR doesnt like to talk about cougars as they were the ones to reintroduce them to Ontario to help keep down deer numbers. Are you MNR Stumpy? hehe

I love the thought/existence of the Cougars back in Ontario, whether re-introduced by the MNR folks or natural migration. I've never seen one outside of a zoo/animal park but heard one on our property in Metchosen, BC once (and it wasn't D-W's type either).

I hope to see one in the wild one day (at arms length), they are beautiful majestic creatures. Until then I'll make do with my own felines (spoiled and all)...

without seeing those chairs fully I cannot for sure say those are housecats and not black panthers.

EGB, i disagree and would say that witness misidentification is not only possible, but likely....the fact that he wasn't sure whether or not it was a lynx or a cougar tells me that he was unsure of the actual size of the animal and isn't able to accurately identify wild cats.....also, that cat didn't have the colour of a cougar and looked fat and out of shape, so i'm saying house cat

OTC

I've contacted the witness, he is only a short drive from me. Hopefully I can go out there and do some measurements. We will videotape it with same camera, same zoom setting, same window. The animal goes past a couple of bushes that come down to it's headlevel, so standing in same place we should get it pretty accurate, enough to rule out a house cat anyways. And as a bonus I will walk my 90lb dog along the same spot, filming it also. Average cougar height at the shoulder is 26-31", house cat range 8-15". My dog is 26" at shoulder.

I usally don't post on here, just read and enjoy. But I wanted to mention that some breeds of cats, like the Main Coon can be big. Males can weigh up to 25lbs and be 17 plus inches tall and can be well over 3 foot long. The do come in grey and can have ear tuffs as well, wich could be confused with a Lynx. Just my 2 cents.

I usally don't post on here, just read and enjoy. But I wanted to mention that some breeds of cats, like the Main Coon can be big. Males can weigh up to 25lbs and be 17 plus inches tall and can be well over 3 foot long. The do come in grey and can have ear tuffs as well, wich could be confused with a Lynx. Just my 2 cents.

LOL EGB! Trust me, together they may weigh 8-9 pounds on the scale. But they (5 month old black siamese and 15 month 1/2 persian) certainly act and rule the house as if they were 200 pds apiece. Gotta love cats. Big or small they all share the same basic instincts and behaviour traits. Quite the survivors and amazing predators.

Good luck with the measuring/re-enactment, let us know how it works out. Not to be critical of him, but if I had a big kitty in daytime wandering around behind my house that I thought may be a cougar or any wild cat - I'd be all over it outside following it. Nighttime would be different... If he/she was a big housecat it's odd it was only a one-of sighting, you'd think you would have seen him a few times or a neighbor would have. If it was a Main Coon or another large breed (Raggedy Ann) chances are it's someone's pet - those guys are expensive (pure bred). Those types of cats are also rather fluffy, the one in the shot looked more lean. But who knows.

AP - I believe the name of that series was Monsterquest, where they re-enacted the vid with the supposed panther or puma or whatever. Yeah, turned out the scale was off and it was just a big domestic cat.

When my wife saw this video she screamed out "that is exactly what we saw from our office window!"
She works in a building at the Carp airport which is West of Ottawa and about a 20 minute drive to Carleton Place. Last summer she spotted exactly what was in this video. 4 others joined her and they watched this cat as in worked its way across the field and into a low wooded patch. 2 of the guys went down that way to check it out in hopes for a better look but it was gone.
She describes it as larger than a lynx. (We have come very close to a lynx,approximately 30ft for a few minutes, so she knows exactly what that looks like). She said this cat was much larger and dark. She compares it to the height of our dog at the shoulders, which is 19 inches. I don't think anyone reported that sighting. There are probably other.....
She said is couldn't be mistaken for a large household cat. Not even close.

that would put it approximately 2kms from where my neighbors saw them.

Cougars can be gray indeed- "The cougar has an overall coat color of tan or tawny, but can vary from reddish, yellowish, or grayish."


http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/mammals/cougar/identification.htm

it is overcast in the video too which could account for the color apprearing less 'tawny' from that distance. Who knows what kind of crappy camera might have been used. From what I have sleuthed out Mr. Peasley contacted a member of the OWFR about it, had the video edited for time, and didnt want it released publicly. The OWFR told him to take another video of himself standing in same place holding a 2x4 horizontally at the waist to gain some perspective on height. For whatever reason he did not do this and instead sent the video into the Citzen before the follow up video could be added. I havent heard back from him myself, maybe he didnt expect all the attention. I've heard back from 4 out of 12 big cat experts, so far it's 50/50.

ps: thanks to Barry for not shutting this down

EGB - Met a gas fitter today who told me a friend of his in Tweed setup a game camera behind his cottage and it snapped a night picture of a doe with its fawn in the first few picts and then shortly after that snapped a following cougar. He sent it in to the MNR but they poo-pooed it, lol, same old 'big house cat' excuse. I haven't seen the photo. Another fellow he knows closer to Balderson claims to have seen it on his farm property and his neighbor saw the same animal and they both swear it was a cougar.

Eastern cougar is smaller than their western cousins, adult avg about 150 pounds.

Eastern Cougar -http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=135

"There have been hundreds of sightings of cougars in Ontario over the years, and their presence here is generally acknowledged.

It's just odd that with so many sightings in ON there hasn't been one conclusive photo or video of one that cannot be disputed.

The odds are against it happening. They are rare, elusive and primarily nocturnal. Probably moreso close to built up areas. I'm willing to bet they arent going to sit still for a picture either like your panthers . More and more better trail cams are getting into the woods though so count on more pics coming to light, but until people start baiting cams with dead deer instead of with deer food they wont happen alot.
My cams dont do much till fall so if I happen across a roadkill deer that is still intact I intend on putting the cams to work.

"There is a theory that the MNR is very hesitant to confirm any of the hundreds of sightings because that would make the cougar endangered in Ontario. They would then have to support the reintroduction of the feline predator. Can you imagine the uproar from farmers when they start losing animals to cougars whose population is growing thanks to the work of the government."

I've heard the very same thing, and to be honest....at the risk of ruffling some feathers I beleive it to be true.

The MNR is also Stretched pretty thin...
Following up on sightings of an animal was beleived a fable until recently...more then likely falls pretty low on the urgency list.

One misconception about the MNR is their denial of the Cougars return.
This is untrue...they just have not "confirmed" a naturally reproducing population.

IMO they are back,
That Video to me....is pretty clear.
I'm not an expert, but given the amount of videos, pictures, sightings...seems logical to assume there are a few roaming around.

I have a PDF copy of Rick Rosatte's paper "Evidence Confirms the Presence of Cougars (Puma concolor) in Ontario, Canada" if anyone is interested. It is published in Canadian Field-Naturalist 125: 116125 and came to me through folks I know who work with the Grand River Conservation Authority with directions to pass it on to anyone who might be interested.



___________________________
No your other left!
Loon Island Outdoors
"Like" my Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/LoonIslandOutdoors

Apparently Jack FM in Smiths Falls did an interview with a MNR rep and this subject came up. Apparently the MNR guy decided to talk about it once cornered. Apparently he mentioned a list of areas in Eastern Ontario, including areas West of Ottawa where they are doing well. Did anyone hear this show?

A year or two ago there were multiple sighting here in SW ontario as well. They had pics of footprints in the paper n they were def not a house cat.

I tend to agree with Cookslav's assessment, and based on all the material at hand (tks Rob/Bob) I'd have to say they are officially 'back'. Still odd there have been none confirmed as road kill at least. Loved to see one in or around the Park - not exactly the best Cougar habitat though. I'll keep a camera handy driving up/down the 416.

Here is a link to the study that Rob W was referring to titled "Evidence Confirms the Presence of Cougars (Puma concolor) in Ontario, Canada".

Interesting read.

http://www.ofnc.ca/cfn/125/116-125_03_11007_rosatte_WEB.pdf

Very interestin read Jo D and Stephen , I live just off the 416 , and saw one bound across the dirt road I live on , two Dominion Days ago , early am .
I was astounded by the sight , it's banana shaped tail , and back legs meetin the front on it's bound was like nothin I've seen before .
I wonder if the Algonquin wolf population , competing fer the same deer would be factor in the lack of Algonquin sightins ?

More sightings here around sarnia this week. There seems to be more than just a few/couple from what everyone here is saying.

I love that treed cougar in the OMNR/Trent U report, poor guy. Wow John, must have been exciting to see him - where was it on the 416? By Hunt Club overpass or somewhere further south? There are lots of deer along there foraging on the cropland next to the highway, and coyotes obviously too. My sister's property backs on to the greenbelt north of Hunt Club (by Moodie), they frequently hear coyotes howling back there and lots of deer (and the odd deer carcass), but no cougars yet.

Hey Stephen ...... On the map ya posted , I roost just about on the 'E' in the word Kemptville , a dirt road and area that has had a few sightins over the years .

Nice - off Donnelly Rd then. We lived in Jasper ON for a few years, drove often on Rideau River Rd during the commute to Ottawa back/forth via the 416 to avoid the stop/go of Kemptville. Saw many a deer and wild turkey (yum) along there.