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Roaming Cougar Captured in Small Southern Ontario Community
London, Ontario, Canada / (CFPL AM) AM 980
July 13, 2014 12:34 pm

Residents in a small community east of Oshawa can now breathe a sigh of relief after the capture of a roaming cougar.

On Friday, Northumberland OPP and officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources used steak and chicken to lure and trap a cougar that had been spotted in a neighbourhood in Grafton.

After catching the big cat, nicknamed “Charlie” by officers, police said he appeared docile, and was possibly bred in captivity, or was domesticated.

Neighbours say they suspect the cat, who had been seen around the neighbourhood multiple times since Monday, is owned by a man living in the area who reportedly owns a number of wild animals on his property.

Police have not yet confirmed where the big cat came from.

Cougars are protected by Ontario legislation, as they are an endangered species in the province.

Ministry officials plan to take “Charlie” the cougar to a zoo in Peterborough for examination.

from the Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07 ... n_ont.html

great pic on the site

Cougar's casual backyard visit surprises couple in Grafton, Ont.
Big cat was trapped by wildlife officials after it spent time lounging under the home’s deck, then a nearby tree, before sauntering into the woods under the gaze of half a dozen gun-toting OPP officers.

By: Samuel Greenfield Staff Reporter, Published on Fri Jul 11 2014

Wildlife officials managed on Friday to trap a roaming cougar east of the GTA in a bear trap, with a T-bone steak and whole chicken as bait.

Residents near Grafton, a small community about 70 kilometres east of Oshawa, had spotted the cat on more than one occasion this week.

Jean Wilson and her husband, John, were having their first morning coffee on Thursday when their dog noticed the presence of a cougar in their yard.

John got up to look out the window and there was the large cat, “like 20 feet away from him,” said Wilson.

“It’s a little scary to have that big of [a] wild animal on your front lawn. But he is an awesome animal, beautiful big cat so, you know, you have some respect for him,” she said.

Wilson said the cat decided to flop down under their deck, where it “lay there quite nonchalantly.” She went to go take a picture of the unusual sight but it “sauntered” off, heading for a spruce tree with some bushes around it.

“It just crawled in there and lay down for the rest of the day,” said Wilson. “Every once in a while he’d poke his head up and just look at what was goin’ on and then lie back down.”

The cougar got some attention from about half a dozen Northumberland County OPP officers, who stood watch about 23 metres off, according to Const. Steve Bates.

“It was very docile. The residents in the area confirmed that it hasn’t been aggressive. Almost appears domesticated,” said Bates, who confirmed that the first reported sighting was on Tuesday.

Wilson said that the cougar later went off into a nearby forest.

Police and the Ministry of Natural Resources still don’t know where the cougar originated, but a ministry spokesperson said the behavior of the cougar leads them to think it had been kept in captivity.

“The behaviour of the animal indicated it seemed to be fairly docile and likely had been in captivity, but of course we’re warning people … it is a wild animal so you should be cautious,” said MNR spokesperson Jolanta Kowalski.

Stuart Kenn is a cartographer and an expert on pumas (another term for cougar) who affirmed that statistically, at least, they do not pose much harm to humans.

He said there have been 110 attacks on humans by pumas in the last 100 years and that most of those cases were instances where the puma mistook a human for prey (such as a mountain biker) or gave in to cat instincts and chased something that flashed by.

“They’re fast, they’re also extremely shy, and extremely elusive. Most people will never ever see a puma in their life,” said Kenn. “If they hear you or smell you, or whatever, in the bush they’re usually gone.”

Cougars are an endangered species in Ontario, which means they are protected by legislation.

According to the MNR’s website, cougars in Ontario are thought most likely to be in northern part of the province. “However, there have been many reports from the southern part of the province. Cougars found in Ontario may be escaped or released pets, animals dispersing from western North America, native animals or a combination of those factors. The population size is unknown,” said the website.

A male puma will wander a range about 150 to 1,000 square kilometres of uninterrupted forest; a female, about 50 to 500 square kilometers, Kenn said.

Wilson said police nicknamed the cougar Charlie, which Kenn says is after Charlie the Lonesome Cougar, the title of a book and a 1967 Disney film.

Kowalski said the MNR planned to take the animal, which was trapped after it returned to the area where it had been seen earlier, to a zoo in Peterborough.

“Examining it may help us determine exactly where it did come from and we’ll go from there,” Kowalski said.

from CTV News, Toronto
http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/big-cat-caugh ... -1.1910607#

click for video

Big cat caught: Officials nab cougar in southern Ontario town
CTV Toronto: Cougar captured in Cobourg, Ont.
Residents in Cobourg, Ont., are breathing a sigh of relief after a wild cougar seen wandering the area was captured by wildlife officials.
Extended: Cougar captured
A cougar was caught Friday evening in a bear trap east of Cobourg, Ont. The cougar is expected to be taken to a zoo.
CTV Toronto: Wandering cougar takes the bait
A cougar that was spotted wandering near Cobourg, Ont. has been captured by wildlife officials.
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CTV Toronto
Published Friday, July 11, 2014 7:56PM EDT
Last Updated Saturday, July 12, 2014 8:34AM EDT

The Ministry of Natural Resources has captured a cougar that had been lurking in bushy areas and backyards in a southern Ontario town for the past week.

Cougars, also known as mountain lions, are considered Canada’s largest and most powerful wildcat. The one spotted in Cobourg – located east of Oshawa -- is believed to weigh approximately 68 kilograms.

Ministry officials were using a whole chicken and a T-bone steak as bait, in hopes of luring the cougar. They confirmed its capture late Friday night.
Related Stories

Cougar spotted on driveway near Cobourg, Ont.

Photos
Officials nab cougar in southern Ontario town

Wildlife officials caught a cougar in a bear trap east of Cobourg, Ont. on Friday, July 11, 2014.
Cougar on the loose in Cobourg, Ont.

Officials are looking for a large cougar that has been seen lurking in bushy areas and backyards in a southern Ontario town for the past week.

OPP Sgt. Paul Zeggil said earlier that the cougar would be moved to another area, far away from humans.

"With the assistance of the MNR, we’d like to relocate the cougar to a safer location," he said.

Roman Zakrajsek said he saw the cougar on his property and his two dogs barked it at.

"It was sort of in an apprehensive mode, like it didn’t know whether to fight or flee," he told CTV Toronto.

Zakrajsek said he used a shovel and scared the cougar away.

"I picked (up the shovel) and I was roaring at the cat."

The cougar was spotted again on Tuesday and Thursday.

"(It) just sauntered around like he owned the place," Jean Wilson told CTV Toronto.

She first saw the cougar Thursday morning. It had cut across her vegetable garden, where a trail of paw prints was left in the dirt the following day. At one point, the cougar also walked up to Wilson's deck and peered into her house through a window.

"He was looking right in the window," she said.

The cougar later strolled to a grove of trees on Wilson's property, where it laid there all day.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Zuraidah Alman


Read more: http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/big-cat-caugh ... z37Y5bfJFm