Cougars orphaned near Canmore find new home in Quebec
Two cougars orphaned last winter near Canmore have a new home in Quebec.
Parc Safari, south of Montreal, has taken them in.
A hunter killed their mother, leaving the pair orphaned and too young to care for themselves.
After a brief stay at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, they're now in Quebec.
Cougars aren't endangered, but they're certainly rare.
'There used to be cougars in Eastern Canada,' said Parc Safari CEO Serge Lussier. 'There's none in Ontario and Quebec. There's none east. There's none in the Eastern United States anymore.
'They used to be all over, right?' he added. '(They're) only out west (now) -- but let's protect what's left."
Parc Safari is holding a naming contest for the 11-month-old cougars.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
3 hours ago
- National Post
'Outside is a privilege, not a right': The imagined thoughts of the Nova Scotia wilderness ban
This week, Nova Scotia announced that it was banning people from the wilderness as part of its anti-wildfire measures. While authorities will routinely ban campfires, fireworks, off-roading and other spark-heavy activities during fire season, there's not a lot of precedent for simply sealing Canadians off from the natural world altogether. Article content Until at least October, the mere act of hiking on public land in Nova Scotia could attract fines of up to $25,000. And even on private land, if a landowner hosts guests in the vicinity of a forest, that's also a potential $25,000 fine. Article content Article content Article content Monday Article content I like to look at society as like a large school classroom. When students are quiet, orderly and devoted to their task, a classroom is an ideal environment for civic betterment. But when chaos and delinquency are allowed free reign, it becomes a vortex of destruction and wasted potential. Article content It is reasonable that these principles should also apply in the macro sense. If Nova Scotians remain selfishly devoted to inherently flammable activities such as fishing, camping and walking in the general presence of trees, then corrective action is in order. Article content Tuesday Article content Even when human activity is successfully purged from a wilderness environment, there is still the risk that fires can be ignited by human activity. An abandoned glass bottle can concentrate the sun's rays in the same way as a magnifying glass, causing a pinpoint of light exceeding 200 degrees Celsius. A nine-volt battery can spontaneously spark without any humans present. We must even assume that an unattended laptop could feasibly be stolen by deer, bears, crows or other wildlife and employed in such a way as to combust the machine's internal lithium-ion battery. Article content Thus, until we can receive a significant amount of rain, beverages will be limited to plastic and/or metallic drinking vessels, standard cell batteries will need to be surrendered to the nearest peace officer and public usage of laptops, mobile phones or other devices will be strictly prohibited. Violators can expect fines of up to $40,000. Article content Article content If you see something that looks like a violation of the burn ban or woods restrictions, please report it to us by calling 1-800-565-2224. Please remember that some people will have travel permits to go into the woods, primarily to work. — Natural Resources (@NS_DNR) August 6, 2025 Article content Wednesday Article content Article content The Government of Nova Scotia appreciates the public's cooperation with these measures, and remains devoted to the various guarantees enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Article content With that said, these remain extraordinary emergency circumstances, and the normal guarantees of free association and other such civil liberties do not apply in instances of restricted travel zones being invoked under the Forest Act (see Section 25). Article content Until hot, dry conditions can subside, we will be prohibiting any further discussion of this matter, as well as mentions of the words 'liberty,' 'freedom' or 'autonomy.' The penalty for violating these restrictions is a $50,000 fine and/or a jail term not to exceed five years. Article content Thursday Article content Despite this government's extremely reasonable measures taken to preserve the integrity and safety of our forested areas, we continue to receive reports of violations. In one particularly corrosive excuse, these violators asserted that 'this is Canada, it's literally all forest, and you're probably going to have to enter the forest at some point if you're doing almost anything.'
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Photo project documenting young Inuit life in Winnipeg 'healing, but also heartbreaking'
Social Sharing A new photo project explores what health and wellness look like to young Inuit in Winnipeg, but the researcher leading the project says it shows young Inuit in the city need more support. The project asked 15 Inuit, ages 16 to 25, to show what life in Winnipeg looks like for them through photography and artwork. The project is called Qanuinngitsiarutiksait, or "developing tools for the wellness and safety of Inuit." Luke Amittu took a picture of the Red River. The 16-year-old, who moved from Nunavut to Winnipeg with his mother and siblings in 2022, says walks by the water are important for his health, but it also reminds him of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Luke says the project taught him the importance of family, having lost some of his favourite uncles as a child, as well as how to listen to people. "I was kind of emotional at first, when I heard other people's stories," he told CBC News at the exhibit's display on Thursday. The project comes at a critical time, as Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre's main funding source for youth programming was just cut, according to youth manager Caramello Swan. The centre provides support and activities for young people in Winnipeg while Inuit communities deal with the highest suicide rates in the country. Swan said many young Inuit in the city see the centre as a safe space. The photo project offered an outlet for any pain participants may have been carrying, she said. It also challenges the notion that young people don't struggle as much as adults do, she said. "We don't realize what type of homes they come from, what type of mindsets they have and what type of struggles they're dealing with," Swan said. "Watching it all come together with this project has been very healing, but also heartbreaking." Swan said it was refreshing to see Winnipeg through the participants' eyes. "I've seen places of the city I've seen every day of my life, but for some reason, I didn't notice it [before]." 'Support these kids' Keith Cook, 17, took a picture of red dresses at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which have become symbols of the MMIWG crisis. Cook said it was important for him to remember the lives lost, and to connect with others in the process. "It helps take the weight off your back, to tell other people about yourself." The photo project was led by Jeevan Toor, a PhD student at University College London in England, as part of her research, collaborating with the University of Manitoba and Tunngasugit. She says it shows young Inuit have a hard time transitioning to life in the city, and that they need support to navigate intergenerational trauma and mental health issues, as well as encouragement to keep up in school. "There's still a lot that needs to be done to support these kids in the city, and I feel that they're not getting enough attention from policy and from government," she said. "I was very surprised, shocked and sad that I might have better access to health care than people that are from this place." Toor hopes that the project draws attention to young Inuit in Canada, and helps them create healthier futures for themselves. "A significant part of those who were here first in Canada are really struggling, and they've not been given the attention that they really need." Photo project turns lens on young Inuit life in Winnipeg 3 minutes ago A new photo project asked 15 young Inuit to document what life in Winnipeg looks like for them. The project, a collaboration between the Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre in Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba, aims to address Inuit health and wellness in the city.
National Post
5 hours ago
- National Post
Jamie Sarkonak: COVID attitudes live on in Nova Scotia's inconsistent forest ban
Article content Permits are obtainable, of course, but the usefulness of this system depends on the sensibility of the bureaucrats tasked with reviewing applications. A spokesperson for Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources told the Post that the number of permits issued so far couldn't be pinpointed, as the work is ongoing. Permits are not being issued for recreational purposes, however. Article content Private property considerations aside, the ban is undermined by its many exceptions: not everyone is being kept out, and not all igneous activities are being banned. Nova Scotia is still open to commercial activity, like forestry and mining, with permits, and applications by tour operators will be considered, too. In other words, the sawdust-spewing tree harvest may very well continue, and perhaps some guided hikes, even though walking your dog to a blueberry patch on a friend's land is an absolute no-go, as is horseback riding, as is cycling to work on a trail system. Article content At the same time, multiple fireworks displays have been greenlit across the province: Halifax will be having a fireworks show on Saturday, as will the town of Digby on Sunday. In an X post, the province explained that professional firework companies can still operate with local approval. Article content Whether First Nations can still use provincial and private forests for traditional reasons, the Department of Natural Resources wouldn't say by press time. That might take a dispute between a bold Indigenous trapper and enforcement officers to find out. Article content The province could defend this by stating that commercial operations are required to have some degree of fire suppression capability on remote sites, and that pyrotechnics companies are trained to ensure that their miniature rockets don't accidentally light the place on fire. The exemptions, they might say, allow for a healthy balance between human activity and risk reduction. But if the conditions are so dire that mere birdwatchers must be barred from the woods, well, why take the risk with Caterpillars and John Deeres? Article content Article content Of course, Nova Scotia's forest bans predate the COVID years, but the similarities are clear, and that's probably why so many onlookers have their hackles up. During the pandemic, the public was put under extreme restrictions on movement to control the spread of what turned out to be a not very dangerous virus. Authorities erred on the side of control and risk reduction, likely because they lacked the competency to properly assess risk, and because the health care system was on thin ice. Article content The rules were enforced with intensity — but officials looked the other way for politically correct causes: in 2020, back when the entire population was unvaccinated, thousands of people packed Halifax streets in a George Floyd demonstration with no government fuss; in 2021, as the vaccine rollout began, Nova Scotian authorities banned vaccine-mandate protests. The inconsistent virus response mirrors the irregular caution now being taken in the woods: rather than using regional and activity-based restrictions, pushing for stronger and swifter punishments for firestarters and bolstering firefighting capacity, the province is simply locking out the public. Article content
