Calgary, AB; DECEMBER16, 2013 -- Photos of Canmore cougars scavenging for food in the last 12 months were released today by Alberta Parks.Two cougars were shot in Canmore on Sunday Dec. 15. This is not one of the cougars. (Photo courtesy Glenn Naylor, Alberta Park /Calgary Herald) For City story by Colette Derworiz.
Photograph by: Photo courtesy Glenn Naylor, Alberta Park
CANMORE
— With the shooting of two cougars in Canmore triggering a heated
debate in the mountain town, a wildlife officer defended his actions
Monday.
Dave Dickson, a provincial Fish and Wildlife officer, shot the big cats on Sunday after a pet dog was killed near a Silvertip home. Dickson described the events as “highly unusual”, saying the cougars were getting bolder. A second pet dog was also killed less than half a kilometre away between the Silvertip Resort and a ravine a few days earlier.
Early Sunday, Dickson said he arrived at the Silvertip home, located along Blue Grouse Ridge, and went outside with the dog’s owner. “A cougar came running out of the trees and crossed right below us into another patch of trees,” Dickson said Monday. “I couldn’t see (the dog), but I could see some blood on the snow.” Dickson circled around the area and went on to the road. “I saw the cougar come out on the top into the subdivision,” he said. “It was wandering in among the houses and under decks. It felt very comfortable walking around the houses — another sign that we had a problem.”
It was still dark, but Dickson continued to track the cougar with his flashlight. As he looked under a deck at one home, he heard a noise on another deck behind him. “The cougar was on the other side of the glass and panicked because it realized I was right there,” he said. “It felt trapped in there and was slamming itself into the glass on the far side.”
Dickson said he backed off and the cougar calmed down, but then tried to ram into the French doors on the unoccupied house. After shooting the young cougar, he offered to retrieve the pet and saw a second big cat. “When I started walking to the dog, I realized there was another cougar right on it,” he said, noting he backed away and came in from another direction.
He thought the cougar had left the area, but saw movement as he approached again. “It was still there. It had left and come back,” he said. “It was crouching, facing me, which was odd and a little disturbing. I have always seen them retreat.” After shooting the second cougar, he realized she was a large female. “She didn’t actually look that healthy.” Both cougars will go in for a full necropsy on Tuesday.
Some residents have suggested on social media that it was unnecessary for Dickson to shoot the animals, but others say he did the right thing. “It was the right decision and an unfortunate one,” said Kevin Van Tighem, a biologist and the former superintendent of Banff National Park. “Once a cougar learns to hunt a certain kind of prey, it is going to continue that behaviour.”
Van Tighem, who lives in Canmore, said the problem had developed long before Sunday. “He had to clean up the mess,” Van Tighem said, noting the cougars had likely become accustomed to being around off-leash dogs. “Someone else’s irresponsible behaviour led to the death of the cougars, not the officer’s.”
Dickson said he stands by his decision. “There was a serious public safety aspect ... we were going to do whatever we could to remove them.”
source
Dave Dickson, a provincial Fish and Wildlife officer, shot the big cats on Sunday after a pet dog was killed near a Silvertip home. Dickson described the events as “highly unusual”, saying the cougars were getting bolder. A second pet dog was also killed less than half a kilometre away between the Silvertip Resort and a ravine a few days earlier.
Early Sunday, Dickson said he arrived at the Silvertip home, located along Blue Grouse Ridge, and went outside with the dog’s owner. “A cougar came running out of the trees and crossed right below us into another patch of trees,” Dickson said Monday. “I couldn’t see (the dog), but I could see some blood on the snow.” Dickson circled around the area and went on to the road. “I saw the cougar come out on the top into the subdivision,” he said. “It was wandering in among the houses and under decks. It felt very comfortable walking around the houses — another sign that we had a problem.”
It was still dark, but Dickson continued to track the cougar with his flashlight. As he looked under a deck at one home, he heard a noise on another deck behind him. “The cougar was on the other side of the glass and panicked because it realized I was right there,” he said. “It felt trapped in there and was slamming itself into the glass on the far side.”
Dickson said he backed off and the cougar calmed down, but then tried to ram into the French doors on the unoccupied house. After shooting the young cougar, he offered to retrieve the pet and saw a second big cat. “When I started walking to the dog, I realized there was another cougar right on it,” he said, noting he backed away and came in from another direction.
He thought the cougar had left the area, but saw movement as he approached again. “It was still there. It had left and come back,” he said. “It was crouching, facing me, which was odd and a little disturbing. I have always seen them retreat.” After shooting the second cougar, he realized she was a large female. “She didn’t actually look that healthy.” Both cougars will go in for a full necropsy on Tuesday.
Some residents have suggested on social media that it was unnecessary for Dickson to shoot the animals, but others say he did the right thing. “It was the right decision and an unfortunate one,” said Kevin Van Tighem, a biologist and the former superintendent of Banff National Park. “Once a cougar learns to hunt a certain kind of prey, it is going to continue that behaviour.”
Van Tighem, who lives in Canmore, said the problem had developed long before Sunday. “He had to clean up the mess,” Van Tighem said, noting the cougars had likely become accustomed to being around off-leash dogs. “Someone else’s irresponsible behaviour led to the death of the cougars, not the officer’s.”
Dickson said he stands by his decision. “There was a serious public safety aspect ... we were going to do whatever we could to remove them.”
source
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