Orphaned cougar kittens can find a temporary home at the Calgary Zoo.

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After their mother was slain, cougar kittens who were left orphaned near 

 Canmore now have a temporary new home in our city. After being rescued close to Canmore, Alberta, two orphaned cougar kittens, estimated to be five to six months old, are being cared for at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. When the kittens were found by themselves close to Grotto Mountain following the death of their mother, Alberta Fish and Wildlife got in touch with the zoo. They received a visual health evaluation from our Animal Care, Health, and Welfare team, and we are pleased to report that they are doing well and in good physical shape," the zoo stated in a statement. Later this week, both kittens will undergo a thorough health examination. Currently, the kittens are receiving treatment at the zoo's Animal Health Centre and are not viewable to the public. The zoo confirmed their stay will be temporary while they work to find a permanent home at another facility in Canada. The rescue comes amid debate surrounding cougar hunting in the Bow Valley. Wildlife photographer and conservation advocate John E. Marriott shared on social media what he believed to be the site where a mother cougar was hunted and killed. He captured video of the kittens Friday afternoon in a tree before they were captured Friday night by a Fish and Wildlife officer in the Bow Valley. Fish and Wildlife issued a statement: "Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES) officers successfully trapped the two young cougars near Canmore. FWES officers have since collected the traps and are working with officials from the ministries of Forestry and Parks and Environment and Protected Areas, who are co-ordinating the long-term housing arrangements for the animals," the statement read. "The young cougars are currently being temporarily housed and cared for at the Calgary Zoo as we determine next steps. "Following further investigation, FWES has determined that the reported harvesting of a female cougar in the Canmore area was done so legally as part of a regulated hunt." Marriott expressed concern for the kittens. "This whole uncertainty this weekend, of what's next? What's going to happen with them?" Marriott said. "And I've had people contacting me from across North America, from shelters, from zoos, just wildlife lovers that have been saying, can we get them in here? Can we get them in there?" Marriott says the outcome is generally poor for orphaned wildlife. "In cases like this, cougar kittens, wolf pups, bear cubs, they get euthanized," he said. "I would love to see (for) bear cubs, cougar kittens, things like this, more of a rehab or even a sanctuary-type place as opposed to necessarily a zoo or shelter." Marriott also wants to see legislation changes in the province around the hunting of female cougars. "If we are going to continue to allow them to be chased down with hounds, with GPS collars and if we decide that as a society, we're still going to allow that, I really would love to see us eliminate the hunting of female cougars, because it's just too difficult to tell when they have kittens," he said. "They have kittens 75 per cent of their lives as adult females." Hunting female cougars with spotted fur or young cougars with spotted fur is prohibited in Alberta. Over the weekend, Todd Loewen, Minister of Forestry and Parks, spoke on Facebook about the problems surrounding cougar hunting. According to Loewen, "licensed Alberta residents have harvested four cougars this season, and none of them were hunters from outside the province." "Cougars are untamed creatures; they are adept ambush predators and can weigh up to 200 pounds."Hunting is essential to managing cougar numbers, as it is for all wildlife in Alberta. The location of the kittens has not yet been decided, according to the zoo.
Source@ctv

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