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 The Cougar Cougars are extremely elusive and usually avoid direct contact with people. Masters of camouflage, they often remain hidden when approached closely on foot. While tracking a cougar one winter day, a researcher stepped within 1 m of its hiding place beneath a large spruce tree before the cat exploded from its hiding place, heading away. Tracks in the snow are usually the only sign of the passage of the rarely seen cougar. (Source: Faune et flore du pays) Hairs found in the monts Valin sector, at one of the four detection stations installed in 2002, made it possible to find the mysterious cat. Urine from a female in heat is sprayed on a post to attract males, who leave traces and a few hairs for DNA analysis. While several sighting claims have been made over the years, there was, until then, no real proof of the cat’s presence in our forests. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada considers the cougar an endangered species in Canada. The cat could soon be considered threatened in Québec. |
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The cougar is the largest of the three species of wildcats found in Canada, the other two being the bobcat and the lynx. In North America, the total length of a male’s body is above 2 m, while adult females are slightly less than 2-m in length. Normally a silent hunter, the cougar, like any cat, becomes vocal when ready to breed. Female cougars in heat have been seen and heard yowling. |
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