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COURIERWEEKEND
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REFLECTING THE COUNTY flOW 7
Ibelieve in cougars, and I'm not alone
After years of wolf sightings; a dead ani-
mal and some DNA tests the
of Natural Recourses is ready to concede
there are wolves in NewBrunswick. Yet this
department will also tell you there are no
resident cougar speCies in this province
and that more than 90 per cent of all such
sightings are false. Just about anybody in
Charlotte County, myself included, will, say
there's a different tell. People in this
province have been lead to believe seeing
a Martian shop.ping at the Super Store or a
UFO landing at Todd's Point are more prob-
able than seeing one of these elusive cats.
Some scientists and media reports give a
snide view of these firsthand accounts,
making the tracking and documentation of
the events even more difficult.
In October of 2005 I was driving toward
St. Stephen on Board Road at 10 a.m. on a
clear morning. As I crested a small knoll
where a straightaway of road lay ahead I
saw what at first appeared to be a large
dog, like a great Dane, coming up out of the
ditch on the right hand side of the road. I
slowed my vehicle and watched as this tan-
coloured animal, with a box-like head and
small ears walked in a crouched stance as
it began its trek across the road. It seemed
to fill the full span of the road and when I
saw the long, scooped tail I realized what I
was looking at.
It moved quickly down into the left
ditch and disappeared into the alders. I had
to pull over and put the truck in park to
gather my thoughts. It was such a large ani-
mal and I knew I had just seen the "ghost
cat." I decided not to'tell anyone for fear
onhe potential ridicule that would follow.
It wasn't until about three weeks later, at a
hunter's breakfast in Rolling Dam, I finally
admitted what I had seen to a group of
friends around the table. I was surprised
to learn each of them had their own story
of either seeing the big cat or its prints or
of knowing someone who had heard it in
the woods. I was referred to Wayne Beau-
master, our local Charlotte County cougar
authority, who,had some hair-rising stories
to tell about his sightings and interactions
with these "non-existent" creatures.
Beaumaster and the provincial experts
do not see eye to eye on the evidence'he has
collected, despite an exhaustive chronicled
record of sightings which videos,
pictures, audio recordings and track casts
dating back to October 2001.
The 2005 June/July issue of "Eas.tern
Woods and Waters" discusses thediscov-
ery of Cougar DNA evidence from Fundy
Park and the October/November 2005 is-
sue of. the same publication critiqued the
evidence Wayne Beaumaster had contrib-
uted. Wildlife biologist Bob Bancroff re-
viewed the photos and other materialsfind
was quoted as saying "Speaking as a sci-
entist, I believe he has enough evidence."
Biologist Cate libby looked at the photo's
and suggested they were feral cats of one
kind or another while biologist Rod Cum-
berland didn't think the cats in the picture
weighed more than 20 pounds.
So, I guess it begs the question; how
can so many people be wrong? I spoke with
Don McAlpine, head of zoology at the New
Brunswick Museum , who told me most
people see other animals and mistake them
for cougars and because there is no dead
or trapped specimens the validly of these
sighting is not really recognized. There is
, a form on the museum website to report
a cougar sighting but there are currently
no studies being done, no reports will be
investigated and tllere are no plans for any
cougar research in the future.
I applaud BeaUlllaster for his passion
and commitment to chronicling the move-
ments of these "ghost cats" in Charlotte
County and for taking his stand against
beaurocratic biologists ready to tell us
all how stupid' we are. The average New
Brunswick resident can tell the difference
between a 30-lb raccoon and a one-ton
moose. We also know the difference be-
tween a 20-lb house cat and 250-lb cou-
gar. The suggestion that more than 90 per
cent of all cougar sightings are inaccurate
leads me to wonder if there may be a hid-
den agenda in the robust denial of cougar
activity in this Province. Beaumaster shares
this view and he believes the {ear of habitat
restrictions would become an issue if the
cat's presence could be determined. That
might change things for the logging, min-
eral and fracking companies who rely on
crown land for their supply and research.
As for me? I saw what I saw. There are
not enough scientific statists to alter my
perception or sway my belief that cougars
are roaming in New Brunswick. Hopefully
Beaumaster is still out there, loading his
camera and keeping a vigil while the pow-
ers that be continue to call me, him and all
the other cougar sighters Too bad
only a dead carcass will prove the existence
of a live ,animal.
Cindy Ferriere is a regular correspon-
dent for the Courier who lives in Rolling-
dam.