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| No barn cat. |
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cougar sighting reported…
Watfish—The sighting of a large cat-like creature has sparked speculation anew that a cougar may be lurking in eastern Lennox County.
Puckhill resident Jacques Cornwallis was driving to the village of Watfish North shortly after one p.m. yesterday when he nearly ran over the animal.
“It was a big cat. It was huge. It was yellowish-orange and it darted right out in front of me. The cat moved from ditch to ditch along Macdonald Line just east of Third School Road. It definitely wasn’t a dog. It looked to be at least thirty kilos. It had paws and a big head. This was no barn cat.”
“I really thought it over, as to what I should do.” He explained in an interview with the Guardian-Standard. “I thought people would laugh. I figured they just wouldn’t believe it.”
Aronka OPP had an officer scour the surrounding area, but saw no animal. Constable Doug Griffiths said police take such reports seriously after a horse was reportedly mauled by an animal with sharp claws, consistent with a cougar attack.
“After that encounter, we’re advising residents to stay indoors at night and lock their barns. This sighting may be closely related to the horse mauling. Wildlife experts say it’s possible that remnant populations of the elusive cat, also known as a mountain lion, could still exist in remote areas of Ontario.” According to Constable Griffiths.
John Fredrickson, a Ministry of Natural Resources fish and wildlife specialist agreed.
“It always seems that once there’s one cougar sighting, suddenly there’s lots of cougar sightings. In fact, the injured horse may have run into barbed wire while running, and panicked, mauling itself.” According to Frederickson.
He adds that cougars confirmed in the Niagara area and in Kenora by the analysis of droppings, were believed to be escapees from zoos or released exotic pets.
“But around here, we haven’t been able to confirm if any of the sightings are legitimate.” He concluded.
END
Images. Cougar.
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