Province investigating report 2 young cougars may have been orphaned by hunters near Canmore

February 15, 2025 Canuck

Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES) is looking into reports of two young cougars that were spotted alone near Canmore this week.

Professional wildlife photographer John E. Marriott says he had been tracking a mother cougar and cubs from multiple litters for the past four years in the forest near his home in Canmore and believes the animal was killed, orphaning her two cubs.

He says that while going out to check his trail cameras just east of town on Monday, he saw a group hunters near the woods. After following cougar tracks in the area, he found the likely spot where the cougar he had been tracking was killed.

A statement from Alberta’s Ministry of Forestry and Parks said four cougars have been harvested in the Bow Valley this hunting season by licensed Alberta residents.

“These harvests have been registered with FWES, and officers are inspecting the cougars to determine if they have been taken in accordance with current hunting regulations,” the ministry said.

Marriott says he noticed tracks from young cougars in the area where he believes the mother was killed.

“And I’m like, ‘How did the [hunters] not notice the kittens?’ Like they had to have. It was impossible to have gone by all these kitten tracks because the kitten tracks were all a day old as well,” he said.

In Alberta, it is against the law to hunt a young cougar with spotted fur, or a female cougar accompanied by a young cougar with spotted fur.

Two young cougars prowl in the snow. — A screenshot from footage recorded by a trail camera set up by John E. Marriott showing two cougar cubs. (John E. Marriott)

“By this point, I knew it was a female with kittens. It’s in the range of the female that I’ve been following the last four years. So I’m putting two and two together,” he said.

“I could see all these blood spots in the snow. I could see where she’d been shot out of the tree.”

Marriott says he continued to explore the area and eventually determined, through the use of his trail cameras, that there were two cubs wandering on their own.

He reported his finding to FWES officers and assisted them in setting up traps and determining the area in which the cubs could be found.

The forestry ministry says it is investigating as to whether the young cougars are, in fact, orphaned cubs. If they are, FWES officers “will work to capture the young cougars and will work closely with officials from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas to determine the best course of action for them moving forward.”

“I certainly hope that if this has been unlawful … that justice is brought on this,” Marriott said.

He added he hopes once the young cougars are captured that they will find a home at an animal shelter or the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo.

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