Salt Spring COCO

01/29/2026

Here is an update on the young mountain lion that found himself in San Francisco on his dispersal journey, how authorities there handled the situation, and how we can be inspired by it to do things differently here.

Last summer, our community reacted fearful and in self defence when a young dispersing cougar, later named Charlie, found himself in a densely populated area in and around Fernwood. He was shot at and later shot dead by civilians for being misunderstood.

Funding for translocation, earlier intervention by and collaboration with authorities, more knowledge about our resident cougars, and increased tolerance and understanding by community members could have made for a happier ending for this young, homegrown boy. These cats are much needed in our undeveloped regions of the island to bring health and balance to the ecosystem by predating the overabundant deer and cottontail populations.

01/28/2026

A situation like this has happened and will happen again in our community. Are we ready to catch the youngster in a safety net, or meet him with fear and guns?

01/27/2026

Cougars are nearly impossible to photograph in the wild. Most photos of wild cougars come about through chance encounters recorded with a mobile device, or from trail cameras.
The beautiful photos used (under license) on this page are, for the most part, taken by professional photographers with the help of tame, captive cougars in a natural setting - like the picture in this shared post. These animals are ambassadors to their kind living in the wild - allowing us a closer glimpse, better understanding, and ability to marvel at their absolute beauty, abilities, intelligence and affectionate nature.

Power meets grace. 🐾🌲

Mountain lions are incredible climbers, and this moment perfectly shows their strength and agility as Tracker makes her way up the tree for David Enos to capture this stunning photo

01/27/2026

Cougars are cats. Cougars moms are moms. Kittens are kids. If you recognize your domestic cats in cougars, you are not wrong. But there is more. We share 90% of DNA with other mammals - including with cats. Anthropomorphism is the only and correct way by which we can relate to them. It is the only way to care enough about them and acknowledge that they, too, have a right to life; that earth isn't just ours, but to be shared. Wildlife doesn't need to be managed by us. Nature does that. The only thing we can and should manage is our overreach, entitlement, and greed.

Sound up for the video :) It doesn't take much imagination to relate to this mom - trying to get to the grocery store before it closes. One toddler complaining because he wants down, while the other two complain because they have to walk and are getting snow in their faces. (Cougar moms tell their kittens to wait, hide, and be quiet while she is away hunting. She then returns to them to take them to the kill site, which can be quite a hike with three little ones).

01/26/2026

A local posting describes a possible cougar sighting yesterday. The author took a picture of a print (shown here) after a neighbour apparently sighted a cougar in the same spot the previous day.

I am fairly sure this is the track left by a dog. There are several features about this track that do not fit for it to be left by a cougar.

Here is a good video on how to distinguish a dog print from a cougar print: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfDxZVMhPqA

Undoubtedly there are cougars on our island, and cougar activity has been reported in the south end where this photo was taken, but based on the appearance of the print in the photo, it does not look like a cougar left this particular track. There is also a possibility that the neighbour misidentified another animal as a cougar, which can happen.

If you come across a track that you think looks like a cougar came by, take picture of several of the prints and take measurements.

01/13/2026

Worth reading the text.
In places where cougars are not pursued by humans, they offer us a gift of mutual tolerance and respect, and give us an opportunity to better understand and coexist without fear. This possibility exists everywhere, if we have the courage to let it. Beautiful tribute.

01/12/2026

Cougars are not one of the "big cats". They are the biggest of the small cat species. They have more in common with our domestic cats than they do with African lions. Similarities that we see between our house cats and cougars are not coincidental.

01/12/2026

01/10/2026