CREATURES – The Eastern Cougar never was a myth … proof from the past

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I quite admire Bruce S. Wright for his work many years ago. Bruce’s view was that scientific papers are nice but getting the facts to the public is nicer. He wrote on many fascinating subjects and, in fact, authored numerous scientific papers and a couple of books on the Eastern Cougar.

For those who think they have debunked stories about the existence of this elusive creature, Bruce was credited with resolving the issue of whether or not the East Cougar was indeed extinct. To do this, he collected evidence from the Maritimes, Maine and elsewhere and in his book “The Ghost of North America” provided proof that the Eastern Cougar actually existed here in the Quoddy Region. But time passes and, it seems, we must once more “prove” the
existence of this “ghost”.

While not the usual beautiful images that we try for here, the following photos of a cougar kill were taken at Lepreau River in August, 1953. The photo of a cougar skin was from an animal shot in Kent County in 1932. All of the photos are from Bruce’s book. 

Lieutenant-Commander Bruce S. Wright served with the RCN during the Second World
War, and was instrumental in forming and commanding the “Sea Reconnaissance Unit,” termed “The Frogmen of Burma,” serving under Admiral Lord Mountbatten in South East Asia.
On his return from military service, he became director of the Northeast Wildlife Station at the
University of New Brunswick.