Over the years, Ray Fisher says he’s seen five one-of-a-kind cougars alongside the Allendale Road near his home. “No had been alike, but they had been, in reality, cougars,” he said. The first one he noticed came in 1968 and turned “pink like a fox with black and white rings around the tail.” Fraser predicted the animal to be approximately 60 kilos. “It surprised me extra than something,” said Fisher. “I noticed him for about three mins. I had an awesome look at him. It changed into a beautiful animal.” Another cougar Fisher describes as looking like a “black panther or puma… it had inexperienced eyes that shone in the headlights, very luminescent,” he stated, including it became beside a huge rock and was short and stocky.
Another one “changed into so large it didn’t appear to be a cougar,” stated Fraser, estimating the animal to be 400 to 500 pounds, seven ft lengthy, and approximately 42 inches at the shoulder. “I saw it on top of Sable Hill,” he stated, and when it bounded, it leaped about 10 to twelve toes. The fourth cougar changed into splotched in color…tan, brown-black, and became sitting by way of a huge pine tree not a ways from Fisher’s driveway.
Fisher’s fifth sighting was a glimpse of a ringed, curled-up tail crossing his faraway driveway home. “I don’t recognize if you could call that one a sighting; however, I knew what it turned into from the tail,” said Fisher. It’s been 1991 visible Fisher has visible a cougar in the Sable River location, but he believes the elusive animals still inhabit it. “I’ve had cougar tracks on my belongings considering that 1991,” he stated, which covers three hundred acres of the faraway wooded area.
“I’ve tracked them lots; however, I never got a terrific look at them. The best ones I noticed have been on the street or the roadside. They’re cautious animals. All you ever see is their tracks.” Fisher shrugged his shoulders when asked if a few humans may discover his tale difficult to consider. “You see what you notice,” he said. “I assume the united states of America’s complete of cougars. I’m lucky to have visible that many.”
CUTS
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Sable River resident Ray Fisher factors to the vicinity alongside Allendale Road, where he visible his first cougar. Kathy Johnson picture
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Sable River resident Ray Fisher reminisces approximately the cougar sightings he’s visible over time. Kathy Johnson image
COUGAR FACTS
According to Hinterland Who’s Who, the cougar, the lynx, and the bobcat are the three felid species or participants of the cat’s own family in Canada. The cougar is the second largest cat in the Americas. The jaguar is the largest. Cougars range appreciably in length and weight, and have quick fur ranging in coloration from reddish, grayish, or tawny to darkish brown. The backs of the ears and the tip of the tail are black, with black markings on the face. Kittens are spotted at birth; however, they lose the spots before starting their first yr. Another one-of-a-kind characteristic of the cougar is its long tail, which could provide a degree as much as a meter long and distinguishes it from the lynx and bobcat.
During the final century, cougars were stated in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, with more than 1,000 sightings reported seeing in 1949 in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The cougar occupies a huge range of flora sorts. It is observed in habitats appropriate for white-tailed and mule deer, the cougar’s preferred prey. The cover might be the key habitat function for a cougar since it’s important for stalking prey, organizing den sites, and camouflage.
A cougar’s domestic range can cowl three hundred rectangular km. Solitary animals discourage other cougars from entering their territory by leaving scratches or piles of leaves, pine needles, and dirt blanketed with urine and feces. They might also depart claw marks on timber near the edge of their territory.
Cougars are extremely elusive and usually keep away from direct touch with people. Masters of camouflage, they frequently remain hidden when approached intently walking. Tracks and tail drag marks within the snow or dust are typically the only proof confirming the presence of these secretive, not often visible, animals.
