The title summarises in three short sentences the story of this cougar and, frankly it is a sad story and a sad indictment of the failure of humans to protect wildlife. As human population numbers grow rapidly there is only one trend: it’ll get worse.

This particular cougar (aka puma) was used to sunning herself on a sundeck in a Ruskin trailer park, USA. She made it a habit and it cost her her life because once a large wild cat gets used to being around people, the authorities decide that the cat is a danger to the residents.
Of course the people are much more of a danger to the cat! The cat’s death at the hands of people is proof of that.
Conservationists went to the trailer park that the cat had made her resting spot and tranquillised her. They took her away and euthanised her.
They say relocation does not work because the cat comes back. This is because the cat’s home range included the trailer park. Perhaps the trailer park should have been relocated?! I suggest this because the family of this cat was probably at this location before the trailer park. Or she was forced to choose the spot because of human settlement expansion elsewhere.
The cat was 15-months-of-age. Her life was ahead of her. At first she lounged on the deck of Kevyn Helmer’s deck late last year. Last Monday another resident at the park found her sleeping in his yard.
It’s speculated that she was feeding on cat food. It’s almost a replication of the original domestication of the wild cat 10,000 years ago. This cougar was becoming semi-domesticated, almost a community cat. The only problem is that she was big and considered dangerous.
Female cougars aren’t that big though (about the weight of a ten year old boy) and they are shy and can be scared off. Wasn’t there a better more humane way of dealing with this? It’s just so sad. She was innocent, harming no one.
Source: mapleridgenews.com.
Incorrect. Female cougars grow larger than males. I used to see really large females on the big US Marine base on Camp Pendleton–some left tracks twice the diameter of my hand, and they hunted right up to the ambulance entrance at the old Naval hospital.
One huge female had her den right at the base of the hill beneath married officer housing. No one except I and one other person knew she was there–she was very secretive, and active mostly at night–and she never bothered anyone.
And what attracts cougars to human habitation is not some tendency to become “domesticated” or “community cougars”, but the presence of domesticated animals kept outside where the cougar finds them easy prey. It’s natural for predators to seek favorable energy exchanges–i.e. the most energy gained from its prey, the least energy expended in obtaining it.
Puma concolor belongs here. Felis catus and Canis familiaris don’t. If idiots would stop “baiting” wild animals by leaving their wretched “pets” outside, this wouldn’t happen, and these magnificant animals wouldn’t be needlessly killed.
Puma don’t feed on cat-food. They feed on live things, like cats. The ones who wanted the puma dead were those who were letting their cats outside (evidenced by the cat-food claim), to protect their cats from being eaten by the puma. A story you can read dozens of times every year wherever puma and domesticated cats are found in the same area. Shoot the puma to save their outdoor cats. People who don’t have outdoor cats don’t mind having a puma around and don’t care at all what happens to the cats of negligent cat owners. Blame yourselves.
What a totally sad and inexcusable story. This outrages and saddens me beyond words. I agree with everyone who believes that an alternative solution could have been found to handle this situation. This poor cougar did nothing “wrong” to warrant losing her life. People make me sick too, literally, all the time. 😱😰🤮😢😭
Shame on all involved! The residents should have scared the cougar away and not allowed her to get comfortable. Then she would still be alive.
Part of surveys for rural building in fact any expansion of housing or industrial growth should have to include wildlife studies.
I’ll hit at the heart of this. I’m willing to bet the first few times Mr. Puma sunned on the deck the stupid humans thought it was cute and cool. Most animals have ‘game trails’ that the follow on a routine. They don’t just gallivant though the forest hoping to hop on a deer. They return to areas where they find food, water and shelter. The stupid humans allowed this animal to be acclimated to humans by not acting aggressively in the beginning. There are aversion tactics that work and are non lethal. Fish and Game were probably notified by concerned neighbors who don’t want their children to fall prey to a wild animal. Human and animal territory can overlap if the humans are educated into how to deal with wildlife.
Thank you Albert. I’m very unfiltered. I don’t believe in making nice for the use of societies feelings. If one can’t tell it like it is, don’t say anything at all. I was always told never sugar coat it.