Stories of encounters with the big cats on Manitoulin Island
A M’Chigeeng encounter
Dante Danville, a resident of M’Chigeeng, called The Expositor the Wednesday morning this newspaper’s call for cougar stories went out, sharing his up close and personal story with what he presumes was a cougar just the night before, on Tuesday, August 5.
At about 10:45 pm, overtaken by hunger pangs, Mr. Danville walked to the Triple J takeout stand in M’Chigeeng on Highway 551 for a late night snack.
“It was about 11 pm when I left,” he said. “I started out on the road, and had contemplated taking the path, but decided to stay on the road.”
When he neared the wooded area heading south on Highway 551, “I saw something really fast moving down the path then make a hard right and that was when I saw what looked to be a cougar. I just stopped in my tracks.”
Mr. Danville says he assumes the beast took the nearby culvert under the road as a shortcut as it was on the other side of the highway in a flash and away into the woods.
“There was a hiss and a growl and a major scuffle in the woods,” he added.
“I continued walking up the road, as it probably wasn’t interested in my French fries or me,” Mr. Danville laughed.
“It was big and brown and a lot bigger than a housecat,” he continued. “It had a long tail. At first I thought it was a fox but it was a long and skinny tail. When it made the hard right was when I saw it was a cat-like creature.”
The tussle in the bush sounded like two animals in a struggle for about 10 seconds, maybe less, then silence. Mr. Danville dutifully tried to emulate the roar-like sound characteristic of a big cat.
“To me it was a cougar for sure,” Mr. Danville said. “It ran so fast.”
Despite this experience, Mr. Danville said he did not feel threatened, but did make a call to the United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising Anishnaabe Police just to be on the safe side.
This is the M’Chigeeng resident’s second cougar sighting, the first occurring a few years ago on Highway 540 near the Stop 540 Restaurant road sign when a big cat appeared on the roadside then dashed into the bush while he was travelling in his car a short distance away.
It is, however, only the most recent of a number of reported cougar sightings in M’Chigeeng over the past several years reported to The Expositor Office. These sightings have been reported by a variety of people who saw what they were certain was the elusive large cat at locations throughout the community.
Dante Danville M’Chigeeng‘I believe you now, Lyle’
I like your sense of humour! The tail is blurred; it seems absurd, But, the cougar ain’t no rumour. Be it a young cat or old female? For this feline, Guys will make a beeline With a rifle or a Luger.After Lyle Dewar so long ago reported his sighting, I made some enquiries about him. I asked someone who knew Lyle if he had a tendency to ‘get into his cups’ and was assured that if Lyle saw a cougar, his vision was clear and reliable. Soon thereafter, my husband and I, who loved to hike in Providence Bay, spied some very unusual paw prints in the snow, near the Providence Bay government docks. It was the ropey outline of a thick tail between the large paws that really got our attention. I had my video camera along but, unfortunately, in my disorganized life, it would be hard to lay my hands on the film. (With long-overdue apologies to Lyle!)
Helga Reilly Mindemoya
