Re: “Young cougars destroyed in town on central coast,” Nov. 30.
I’m a resident of Ocean Falls, I took the photos of the cougars that were used by the media and I would like to set the record straight.
With all due respect to the conservation officers, they had already decided to destroy the animals before they assessed the situation. (Their mandate is no relocation.)
The time between the first actual sighting of all three cougars and the conservation officers coming in was one week. The time between the cougars catching the seal on the dock and the conservation officers destroying them was three days.
The adult cougar had been sighted off and on for about two years, with no habituated behaviour.
As to the cougars going on people’s decks, some people feed table scraps to ravens and crows, as well as leaving dog food out.
Animals always seem to be on the short end when we humans go into their environment and change it to suit us.
I was truly in awe at having seen these beautiful creatures in their natural setting. One of the main reasons my husband and I moved to Ocean Falls was to be near and observe nature at its best. However, clearcutting by logging companies in the surrounding areas has displaced many animals and birds, which might contribute to their “unnatural behaviour.”
Gladys Miller
Ocean Falls
