Day #359 Nicki, the Cougar

She Doesn't Look Dangerous, Does She, and She's Related.
Look Again - Cat's Claw.

Picture of Nicki to be attached at a later date.
Not long ago, there was an article in the Picton paper about Paul Malagerio and his cat, Nicki. Nicki is a domesticated cougar who is 6 months old and declawed.
Paul has worked in various zoos, and has worked in Zimbabwe, too. Big cats are his passion. He takes Nicki with him in his truck, and they are often invited to schools to do a presentation.
I wrote to Paul to ask for cougar information, and he called me today with these bits of info' and advice.
Cougars, mountain lions, panthers - they are all the same animal but with colour and skin thickness variations according to their environment or location.
Cougars have a 90% successful kill factor. Most animals have between 10% to 20%.
Cougars see humans as another predator, particularly because we walk upright, so they are taught as cubs to avoid us. However, a cyclist's predictament is that since we are sitting smoothly on a bike, we look more like a racing gazelle or an escaping animal.
When a cougar attacks, it gets you silently from behind by the back of the neck, and you are usually paralyzed within seconds
so bear-spray may not be much help. I plan to carry it on my waist belt, or in the water-bottle carrier on the bike.
Cougars are especially attracted by bright colours and movement, so, as you can see, a cyclist is too much temptation. Still, we rarely hear of cougars killing people. The closest I've heard this year was the person chased by one in Banff, and the cyclist in the hills behind San Francisco. Both escaped, as did the older couple last month on the west coast, U.S.A.
Still, it's like the fickle finger of fate - we don't want it to be us.
I was told that we'll find them in the prairies, and in B.C. and Alberta. It's my belief that they were exterminated in N.B. and Quebec, and, of course, PEI doesn't seem to have anything for a cyclist to worry about other than what seafood platter to order. However, they may have been re-introduced in some areas so it looks like cougars will be an on-going worry.
More cougars are killed by people than the other way round, however. People buy them as pets, (easy to buy - zoos etc. - $500-$1000), declaw them, and release them when they become trouble.
Ministeries of the Environment move a bunch into your area and release them. The cats aren't equipped to survive these kinds of changes and often perish.
Farmers and hunters kill them.
Growing human populations are removing the ability of most big animals to live in our areas these days, anyway. If fact, most of life is being mowed away or destroyed in one way or another.
Cougars are easily confused or distracted. Things Paul suggested that I could use would be tassles on the handle bars, a flag, or perhaps some clicking thing on the spokes.
My favourite solution was told to me by a gentleman from Vancouver me last month.
'Take a dog', he said. 'Dogs will usually keep wild animals at bay'.
This is something else I have long contemplated, taking a dog, but have made no decision yet. Need more info' about breeds that could possibly do it.
Anyway, may all your cougar experiences be friendly ones.
Karen