EDITOR,
It was with a very heavy heart I read the news about three cougars being destroyed in Squamish the other day. I can only reflect on Brian Vincent's letter to the editor last week ("Cougar conflict avoidance tips," Chief, Sept. 9). We have so much to learn about co-existing with the other species on this planet.
As Brian outlined, there are several ways to make these encounters less likely. It just involves us making an effort to change our ways and the way we view wildlife. Wildlife is not just an inconvenience; they are a necessary part of the greater ecological web, which is vital for the very existence of this planet.
Some of us were lucky enough to grow up with cougars and bears. Our parents did not even think about having them killed; they taught us how to protect ourselves and what to do when we had an encounter. I'm surprised any of us survived amid such constant danger. Of course at that time, we didn't have over-protective parents or the media sensationalizing every story to sell papers and inflict paranoia.
For those who chose to move from the city to the country to raise their children and play in the forest, did you not consider that it meant being close to nature and wild animals at times? For those who chose to live as close to the forest as possible or have their dream home with a lovely stream out back, here's a reality check you will have wildlife in your yard.
As we continue to develop with no thought to animal corridors and connectivity, where do you think the animals are going to go? And if you keep throwing fluffy little meals outside for them you think they won't eat? Unfortunately, the animals want to wander in the valley bushland to forage for food, and even more unfortunately, we continue to develop what's left of that habitat. They cannot survive in treed areas with no underbrush or food sources. I guess we could always put up signs to direct them to the places they are "supposed" to go, but where exactly is a cougar "supposed" to go when we move into his world? And even more important, what language should the signs be printed in? Sign language? With little kitty paws? The only way to steer wildlife to safe passage is not to give them any reason to hang around. We frequently have bears in our yard, but with no attractants, they simply sniff around and leave.
We have come to the point where we refuse to change our habits and prefer to kill off anything that might some day, no matter how obscurely, interfere with our daily lives. We cannot protect ourselves from every possible danger on the planet; we can only live as carefully as we can. More of us will be killed by other human activity than by animals, and if we are attacked by an animal and know what to do, then chances are pretty good we will survive. If we changed our habits and learned to accept each other's presence, encounters would be few and in only a few rare cases would a rogue animal need to be destroyed.
At the rate we are going, our children will never get to appreciate animals in the wild. The only ones they will see will be in zoos at least the ones that are lucky enough not to be destroyed for simply existing.
Mary Mitchell
Squamish
