Jacques Nadeau chuckled when a reporter told him there had been a cougar sighting in St-Lazare recently.
Nadeau is spokesperson for Quebec’s Ministère des forêts de la faune et des parcs. He said there hasn’t been definitive photographic proof of a cougar in Quebec in more than 15 years, which isn’t to say there are no cougars in the province.
“It’s a bit like the Loch Ness monster. A lot of reported sightings, but no photographs to prove it,” Nadeau said. “Actually, people have shown us photos, but they are such bad quality it is impossible to confirm it’s a cougar.”
That said, the stories are compelling.
St-Lazare resident Neil Munroe reported a sighting on his farm in the wee hours of Oct. 25. He said his dogs were agitated when he arrived home at 4 a.m. and while checking on them he saw what he described as a big cat, with creamy beige fur, pointy ears and a long tail with a black tip.
People have mistaken bobcats for cougars, but bobcats have stubby tails.
“We had one fellow from Gaspé who was sure he’d seen a cougar, but after we investigated, it turned out to be his neighbour’s really large house cat,” Nadeau said.
Nadeau said he respects the man’s story, but the ministry cannot confirm the sighting without photographic proof.
Munroe told a reporter the paw prints he found after the animal left were as large as his hand.
“If he took a photograph of the paw prints, he can send it to me and I can have one of our biologists look at it,” Nadeau said.
Munroe’s isn’t the only story about a sighting in Quebec.
One night earlier this month, Cindy Kruller was driving near Très-St-Rédempteur when she saw a large cat loping along. It was gone before she could take a photo. She remembers the animal having very powerful back legs.
On the ministry’s website, a statement says the presence of cougars in Quebec is still being questioned, but because there have been so many sightings in the southern portion of Quebec, it “leaves little doubt” about a presence in Quebec. DNA analysis of some fur left behind at one site confirmed the fur was from a cougar.
One theory floated following the discovery was that the cougar fur might have come from an animal that had escaped a private enclosure, such as those used by owners of exotic pets.
In June 2015, a horse was mauled by what its owner thinks was a cougar in Hinchinbrooke in the Châteauguay Valley. Photos were taken of the gouges on the horse’s rump.
The cougar, also called a mountain lion, is the fourth-largest wild feline. It has large paws and powerful back legs. A male can weigh up to 220 pounds and a female up to 141 pounds. Historically, attacks on humans are rare, but the number is increasing as developments encroach on cougar territory. The greatest concentration of cougars is found in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Yukon.
People who believe they have seen a cougar are asked to report the sighting to the Ministère des forêts de la faune et des parcs by calling 418-627-8600 or by sending an email to services.clientele@mffp.gouv.qc.ca.
And if you have time to take a clear picture, all the better.
