A few of the park’s illusive cougars have been seen peeking their faces out of the bushes in the last few weeks, giving passersby an uncommon treat.
The sight of these powerful predators has many people asking why we don’t see them more often, and what to do when we do see them.
Let’s start from the top.
Cougars are inclined to keep cover. They’re stealthy stalkers that hunt through ambush, so it’s in their best interest to sit silently and wait for their prey.
“Most of the time the only time you get to see them is through a lucky opportunity,” said Human Wildlife Conflict Specialist Steve Malcolm.
Malcolm pointed to the photos that popped up on Facebook as an example of those lucky moments.
“I know people that have been in this park for their entire life and haven’t had an opportunity like that.”
Because they’re so elusive, Parks Canada doesn’t have a solid handle on the cougar population within the park, but Malcolm guesstimates that there are between 50 and 80 animals.
“Their key active periods are right before dawn and dusk—that’s when their hunting period is—so that makes it even harder for us to get visuals on them.
“But they’re definitely out there,” he said, noting that wildlife cameras have allowed Parks to get some images and a better understanding of JNP’s population.
If Parks’ guesstimates is correct, Malcolm said the park has a healthy cougar population. He attributes that success to the number of deer that currently call Jasper home—as deer are the primary food source for cougars. They will also prey on sheep and elk.
“Elk take a bit more work for these guys. I find it’s the more mature individuals—like we had a big male here in 2012 that seemed to be working the local area and it was successful at bringing down cow elk.
“It takes cougars probably four or five years before they can be that effective; they have to be efficient with elk because they’re so big.”
Last winter, a cougar killed three elk at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, and in all three cases, human wildlife conflict specialists had to push the cougar off the carcasses because the kill sites were too close to people.
One of those elk was killed on the Mildred Lake skating rink.
To scare the cougar off, two or three Parks staff will walk toward the carcass with noise makers and firearms.
“Usually just the presence of a couple people is enough,” said Malcolm. “They’re not aggressively defensive like grizzly bears. They’re used to getting pushed off carcasses—even though they’re a top predator—a pack of wolves, even a pack of three or four wolves, will come in and push him off that carcass, so they don’t tend to protect their carcasses.
“They tend to kill them quickly, bury them and feed on them in an area where nobody’s going to find them and try and eat as much as they can.”
Although cougars are generally uncomfortable with humans, they can be a threat, especially if they’re hungry.
Malcolm said, like with any animal encounter, if you run into a cougar while you’re out on a trail, it’s important to make yourself look as big and intimidating as possible. He also advised that if you’re with small children or a dog that you pick them up.
“They will target pets—and obviously pets and small children are very indistinguishable to them, so that’s where we sometimes have our issues with human contacts where they end up attacking small children.”
(There has never been such an incidence in JNP, but they do occur in the province and across North America.)
Malcolm also recommends that everyone carry bear spray, as it’s a good defense against all predators. Hiking sticks can also be a helpful weapon.
And, of course, Malcolm said never play dead or turn your back and run away.
“If anything, you want to actually be more aggressive,” said Malcolm. “You want to look bigger than you are.”
If you see a cougar near the townsite, contact Jasper Dispatch at 780-852-6155.
Nicole Veerman
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