Cougars in Ontario - Outdoors in the Land of Lakes

Lorraine Julien | Dec 20, 2012

One of my neighbours recently mentioned she was nervous about her small children playing on their own because of the possible threat of cougars in the area. She had heard this from some local residents who had reportedly seen evidence of a cougar in the area of a nearby lake.

This reminded me of a time a few years ago when my husband and I were driving along a country road just south of Port Perry. It was early one clear spring morning and visibility was very good. All of a sudden a very big wildcat jumped out of the ditch and ran across the road. I think we surprised it as much as it startled us. It was definitely a cougar – big and muscular with a long, powerful looking tail. Its fur was honey coloured – very beautiful and a sight I’ll never forget. There is a wild cat zoo in the Orono area (a few miles as the crow flies) and there’s also a wild animal sanctuary a few miles north of Port Perry so it was possibly an escapee from a private zoo rather than a wild cougar.

A cougar/car collision near Mountain Grove was reported in the Frontenac News in August this year

Some interesting facts:

The cougar has more than 40 names in English alone depending on the area. Some examples are: Puma, mountain lion and panther

It ranges from the Yukon to the southern Andes in South America

Second heaviest cat in the Western hemisphere after the jaguar – males can weigh up to 220 lbs. but the average weight is about 137 lbs.

Most closely related to smaller felines such as the domestic cat – it can hiss, growl, scream or purr like a domestic cat but cannot roar like a lion

Top running speed is 64/80 km/h

Adults, especially large males, can have a territory as large as 150 to 1000 kilometers

The cougar (Puma concolor, formerly Felix concolor), is one of three wild cats native to North, Central and South America. The other two are the bobcat and the lynx. In North America, the distribution of cougars has been reduced to a third of their historical range due primarily to mortality resulting from conflict with humans. By the 1940s, native cougars had apparently been extirpated from eastern North America.

After some internet browsing I discovered that the Ministry of Natural Resources has been looking for evidence of cougars in Ontario for the past few years. Most of the following information is what I learned from reading research material gathered under the guidance of Senior Research Scientist Rick Rosatte of the MNR.

According to his report, the last known wild cougar in Ontario was shot back in 1884. Since then no one has been able to get a clear photograph of a cougar even though numerous trail cameras had been used by the MNR in recent years in an attempt to detect cougar presence. If someone thinks they may have spotted a cougar, MNR staff follow up with an interview, but almost all sightings have turned out to be bobcats, fisher, deer, coyotes, lynx – even house cats! If the sighting seems feasible, a camera is set up that is triggered by motion and heat. So far the cameras have captured many images of animals but no cougars.

Even so, the number of cougar sightings has been increasing steadily for many years, which probably does indicate an increasing presence of cougars in Ontario and was one of the reasons why the ministry initiated a study. Ministry researchers have been looking for evidence and, with help from the public, have documented cougar tracks. They’ve found scat (feces) which has tested positive for cougar DNA and they’ve seen evidence of cougars in the distinctive way some animals are killed. Even if a cougar is sighted, these animals are so fast and travel such vast distances that they’d be long gone by the time a camera could be set up. Since they do travel so far, multiple sightings in an area could easily be the same cougar. Also, because of their reclusive and secretive habits, cougars are very difficult to find, even in areas where there are confirmed populations such as in western Canada and the western U.S.

More than likely at least some of the cougars that roam the province are either escaped or intentionally released cougars from zoos and private homes. (There are an estimated several hundred cougars in captivity in Ontario). Or, Mr. Rosatte says they could be a genetic mix from different sources – remnants of a small native population or migrants from the west. It’s also possible that some cougars may have survived the decimation of the eastern cougar population in the late 1800s. It’s feasible given the size of Ontario and its remote north. Since cougars feed mainly on white-tailed deer and mule deer, there is certainly a large prey base for cougars in Ontario.

Although most cougar sightings are actually other animals, people should use caution if they think they see one. Cougars generally avoid humans but escaped pets might let you approach them. If you see a track in the snow, put a ruler beside it, take a picture and then cover the track with a light coloured plastic pail. This will help to preserve the track so it can be checked out by MNR staff.

Kicksled Update – Further to the Feb. 10, 2011 column on Kicksleds, I did receive inquiries from some readers re availability of sleds. If you are interested in this Finnish-made product, it is now available in North Frontenac. For more information just email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Profits from the sled sales go to Operation Smile and the Smile Train.

Please feel free to report any observations to Lorraine Julien at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.