Are dogs more important than cougars?

[A_Britishcolumbian]

why were these cougars killed? it makes no sense to me.

2 cougars killed in Canmore after attacking local dog
Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers discovered the cougars feeding on a family pet
CBC News Posted: Dec 15, 2013

Alberta Fish and Wildlife euthanized two cougars in Canmore Sunday morning after the animals were discovered feeding on a local dog.

A call reporting the attack came in around 6:30 a.m. MT Sunday.

An Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer attended the scene and spotted one cougar with the dead dog. The officer tracked the animal into the Blue Grouse Ridge subdivision, east of Silvertip Road, where the cougar was cornered and euthanized.

The officer then returned to the location where the dog was killed.

"When the officer went back there was a second cougar on the dog, feeding on it," says Brendan Cox, a public affairs officer with Alberta Justice. "This cougar, it held its ground and stayed with the dog."

The animal was euthanized at the scene.

"These cougars are believed to have been working together and it's also believed that they were involved in an attack on a dog on Thursday," Cox said.

Cox said the cougars were destroyed because they were not demonstrating any fear of humans, they appeared to be depending on dogs for food and were showing signs of habituation to those behaviours.

"These incidents are rare because cougars are typically very shy of humans and will generally stick to hunting other animals," said Cox.

Dog owners in Canmore are being advised to keep their pets on a leash and within sight when they are outside.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/2 ... -1.2465446

[Bsuds]

Probably because with no fear of humans their next victim/dinner could be a person or worse a small child.

[dogspoiler]

I think a child would be a person too.

If the cougars are going to behave like that they will eventually be involved with people one way or another. The authorities have little choice in how they deal with it.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

i don't know that the cat(s) didn't fear humans, they were simply protecting their kill.

and really, in cougar country, leaving your dog outside is essentially baiting the cougar.

[Rwede]

Cougars naturally fear dogs and run. When they attack, that's unnatural, and indicative of a cougar that is a danger to other lifeforms, including humans, that they would naturally fear.

Good job by the Conservation Officers to help prevent an attack on humans.

[Bsuds]

I think a child would be a person too.

Most of them. lol

[Fancy]

The officer tracked the animal into the Blue Grouse Ridge subdivision,

Makes perfect sense to me these cougars were put down.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

cougars are afraid of dogs?
cougars eat dogs to my knowledge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn-7nbU9xho

[Fancy]

cougars are afraid of dogs?
cougars eat dogs to my knowledge.

Not when they are treed by cougar hounds.

[Rwede]

Cougars are naturally afraid of all canines. Wolves kill and eat cougars, and steal their kills from them.

Part of the influx of cougars to towns is due to a high wolf population. The cats are coming closer to civilization because competition and the threat of death from wolves is so intense right now.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

not last winter, but the winter prior, a cougar was taking dogs from from farms in the red rock and stone creek area.
the 4 dogs i heard of taken were all large and very large. i heard two others were taken as well.

[Rwede]

Exactly. A starving, desperate cat will kill and eat dogs. A natural, healthy cat will run like the wind to a tree to escape dogs.

That's why the former needs to be put down. It's unnatural behaviour brought on by desperation.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

a sickly cat taking big dogs?
a cat that eats 6 dogs in a period of about two months, starving?

[Fancy]

Another cougar that should be done away with - too habituated to people if they are going after pets.

[Rwede]

a sickly cat taking big dogs?
a cat that eats 6 dogs in a period of about two months, starving?

Yes, starving. A healthy cat eats a 150 lb deer in 5 or 6 days. 6 dogs in 2 months is starving.