Clint Janzen was going about his day on his routine trap checks when he came across something he'd never seen in his life.
A live cougar with its paw stuck in one of his humane traps, and not happy to be there.
"The feeling was hard to explain, the shock and awe of actually seeing a live cougar. It was really awesome."
Janzen promptly called Wildlife Conservation, and they met up with him at his trapline located near the Duck Mountains.
The conservation officers confirmed that this was the first time that a live cougar had ever been recorded to be trapped in the province.
It's important to mention that the traps that Janzen uses are a variety that leave a gap in the jaws, wide enough to hold a creature in place, but not physically harm them.
Conservation officers used this rare opportunity to take some samples of hair, blood, and scat, and fit this big cat with a tracker, which will give them invaluable insight into the movement and habits of these elusive creatures.
Even Janzen noted that he'd never seen a live cougar in person, even though he's been trapping since a young age.
Overall, this is a great insight into the value trappers have for wildlife preservation.
Janzen usually uses these traps for wolves and coyotes, which he notes have been progressively moving out of the mountains, and into agricultural lands.
These trapping efforts assist Manitoba's Problem Predator Removal Program, but can even be used to mitigate the damage done by unwanted beaver populations that can flood critical farmland and ruin crops.
This latest catch of a Cougar is just another way that the trapping community has given back and allowed us to learn more about the animals that share the ecosystem with us.
