A reported cougar attack on livestock in the Luther Marsh area brought up old questions on the existence of the species in Wellington County.
On Feb. 8, Wellington North received a Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation report about a heifer killed by a cougar near Conn, north of the Luther Marsh Conservation Area.
The report stated the owner thought the cow’s shoulder was broken and its neck may have also been broken. The valuer, Gordon Flewwelling, stated all appearances suggest it was a cougar attack.
The farmer received compensation from the municipality for the cow, which was valued at $1,400.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), which is not involved with the claim, could not confirm a cougar is in the area.
“We get calls actually quite regularly about cougars and differently things,” said Art Timmerman, management biologist at the MNRF. “Most of these, when they are checked out, they turn out to be things other than cougars.”
However, Timmerman acknowledged valuers know what signs to look for.
“There are people who are trained in that and they know what to look for in a cougar attack,” he added.
But cougar evidence in Wellington County is lacking.
“We need solid evidence to say that there is a cougar out there,” Timmerman said.
He added he thinks there is little evidence because there aren’t many cougars.
“I think it’s because there’s very [few] cougars, if any, in the area,” he said.
As to the elusive cougar’s origins, it’s still an unanswered question.
“We don’t know if they are escaped/released captive animals, dispersers from western Canada, native animals or progeny from (one of the)above. So we don’t know,” said Timmerman. “There was evidence from two cougars collected but we don’t know the origin of those animals.”
