[ValleyNature] re COUGAR in Nova Scotia & Maritimes -- Herald, story, Apr. 24/09

[James W. Wolford]

ALERT!: Check out CBC RADIO ONE on SUNDAY MORNING, 8:30 a.m.,  
Maritime Magazine?, for a report on cougars in the Maritimes and/or  
Nova Scotia.  And then write a letter to some strategic person or  
site about how important it is that our public radio get adequate  
funding, and just how important this is to our society!
----------------------------

Chronicle Herald, Friday, April 24, 2009

Cougar hoax somebody 'goofing around'

By IAN FAIRCLOUGH Staff Reporter
Fri. Apr 24 - 11:36 AM

These aren’t Nigerians looking for your banking information, but the  
purveyors of a new Internet hoax have caused a bit of a stir in the  
province.

An email being forwarded to unsuspecting recipients includes two  
pictures of what is purported to be a dead eastern cougar and says  
the animal was roaming near Kempt, Queens County, where a James Snipe  
hit it with his car on the Northfield Road. The message says the big  
cat was still alive but unable to move, so a neighbour called  
Department of Natural Resources to have it killed.

But the cougar, pictures and email have no connection to this  
province. They’re actually from Arizona, where a western cougar was  
hit by a truck in late 2007 and did have to be put down.

The story has been altered at least 17 times, changing the geographic  
location. While there is a Northfield Road in Kempt, James Snipe is  
actually a name added to the version of the email making the rounds  
in North Carolina, according to snopes.com, a website that dispels  
false rumours and urban legends.

Tony Rodgers, the executive director of the Nova Scotia Federation of  
Anglers and Hunters, says he has received about two dozen calls and  
emails in the past week from people talking about the email,  
including one from a man whose wife is refusing to go to their camp  
in the area for fear there are more cougars roaming the woods.

"I think it’s somebody goofing around. I can’t see any benefit to  
doing it, except to scare everyone in Kempt," Mr. Rodgers said.

Mark Elderkin, a provincial biologist with the Department of Natural  
Resources who specializes in species at risk, said the email, with  
comments that the department is obviously trying to cover up the fact  
that cougars are in the province, does a disservice to the  
department’s biologists.

He said the hoax is tying up the department because staff is spending  
time explaining to the many people calling or emailing that the story  
is untrue.

Mr. Elderkin has received more than two dozen messages in the past  
week based on the email. Normally there are only 25 to 50 reports a  
year of cougar sightings in Nova Scotia.

But, he said, the eastern cougar has never been native to Nova  
Scotia, and no sightings have been substantiated. He said staff  
investigates any credible reports because a cougar could escape from  
captivity or be released into the wild here.

Mr. Elderkin said he still wants the public to let him know when they  
see what they suspect is a cougar. He said the department has traced  
the email back to where they think it originated in Nova Scotia, and  
has given those people a stern talking to. They have apologized, he  
said.

A close look at the pictures of a man holding the cat in a garage  
shows several antlers from mule deer in a back room. That species is  
not native to Nova Scotia either, so it should be evident the email  
is bogus, Mr. Elderkin said.

But he said that in some email versions cases of Keith’s beer are  
superimposed over the antlers.

( ifairclough at herald.ca)
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