Cougar sighting in Goulais this weekend

It's certainly a rare sighting.

A photo of what appears to be a cougar in Goulais River was recently submitted to SooToday by Brian O'Shaughnessy.

"The picture was captured on a game camera in my back yard. The picture was snapped at 10:49 a.m. I was in the house and my cellular game camera caught it," he said.

More specifically, the animal was in the Highway 552 East/Eagle Mine Road area.

According to the Ontario government, "cougars may live in northern Ontario because of the remoteness of the habitat and each year the ministry may receive a few reports."

In August 2022, a cougar sighting was reported in Sault Michigan.

In July 2022, sporadic sightings of cougars were reported in Pukaskwa National Park. The report said it was the first time a cougar sighting has been documented in the park since it opened nearly 40 years ago.

The privately run Ontario Puma Foundation estimates that approximately 550 pumas (called cougars in North America) are in the province and their numbers are increasing steadily to a sustainable population.