John E. Marriott, co-founder of Exposed Wildlife Conservancy, discovered on February 10 and 11 that a local guide-outfitter and cougar hunters had killed a female cougar he had tracked for the past four winters near his home in Canmore, Alberta.
Marriott was shocked and dismayed, but even more troubling was his discovery that the hunters had orphaned two young kittens too young to survive independently. He documented the abandoned kittens with photos and statements, which he sent to Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES). With Marriott’s assistance, FWES officers captured the kittens on Valentine’s Day and relocated them to the Calgary Zoo, where they are now being temporarily cared for.
News of the mother cougar’s death and the orphaned cubs spread quickly, sparking outrage among locals in the Bow Valley, as well as people across Alberta and around the world. Marriott’s photos and videos detailing the incident went viral on Instagram and Facebook, amassing more than 1.5 million views and widespread media coverage.
Public backlash against the government was intense, with an overwhelming number of people writing and phoning Todd Loewen, Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks. In response, Loewen issued a statement on February 14:
“There’s been some recent talk about cougar hunting in the Bow Valley, and I’d like to clear up a few misconceptions. Four cougars have been harvested this hunting season by licensed Alberta residents, and these harvests did not involve non-resident hunters.
The harvests have been properly registered with Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES), and officers are involved in inspecting cougar harvests to ensure they comply with current hunting regulations.
Managing predator populations is also an important part of protecting threatened species like caribou, and big game animals like bighorn sheep, moose, and elk.
At the same time, it’s important to note that hunting young cougars with spotted fur, or females accompanied by young cougars with spotted fur, is illegal.”
On Monday, February 17, Sheena Campbell, director of communications for the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services, stated, “Following further investigation, FWES has determined that the reported harvesting of a female cougar in the Canmore area was done so legally as part of a regulated hunt.”
Case Closed.
But Was It Legal?
Marriott disagrees with the FWES finding, stating in a social media post, “I saw the kittens in a tree in the daylight and was able to 100% confirm they had spots. I sent my pictures to the world’s foremost cougar expert, Dr. Mark Elbroch, he replied, ‘100% those are spotted kittens. 100%.’ The Calgary Zoo vet and the F&W officer also confirmed the kittens have spots.”
Marriott believes the harvest was illegal and has asked for the public’s help to reopen the case, posting on social media, “It is unlawful in Alberta to hunt female cougars with spotted kittens. So now it’s going to be YOU that I need to help get this investigation re-opened. I need all of you calling Minister Mike Ellis, who runs Fish & Wildlife, at 403-216-5439. Also, email the Ethics Commissioner and NDP MLA Sarah Elmeligi to investigate this further (info@ethicscommissioner.ab.ca, banff.kananaskis@assembly.ab.ca).”
The Rocky Mountain Outlook contacted Alberta Fish and Wildlife to confirm spots in the kittens. While confirming there were spots, a spokesperson for the zoo said the senior veterinarian advised the cougar kittens’ spots are “almost completely faded away.”
So… at the time of the hunting, the kittens had spots, and now they are fading.
Marriott says the hunt was illegal according to the province’s rules; the province says the spots were faded, so the hunt was legal.
But Should We Hunt Female Cougars?
Regardless of whether the cougar kittens still had their spots, one fact remains: at just five or six months old, they likely wouldn’t have survived without their mother.
Young, inexperienced cougars are more prone to conflicts with humans, often targeting easier prey like livestock. If these kittens hadn’t been captured, they might have starved or ended up in such conflicts.
Female cougars spend over 75% of their lives pregnant, nursing, or raising young. When hunters target females, they often leave behind orphaned, inexperienced cougars, increasing the likelihood of human-wildlife conflicts. Research shows that cougar hunting leads to more of these conflicts.
Ironically, Todd Loewen’s social media post about “cougar misconceptions” linked to articles portraying cougars as a threat to human safety—justifying hunting as a management tool. In reality, hunting increases cougar conflicts rather than reducing them.
Making matters worse, Alberta has financial incentives for hunting female cougars. The Canadian chapter of the American Wild Sheep Foundation adds an extra $1,000 to its $3,000 bounty for cougar kills in certain Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). In some WMUs in the province, the Wild Sheep Foundation of Alberta (WSFAB) offers a staggering $7,000 “reward” for killing a cougar.
By targeting females, hunters are only ensuring more future conflicts with cougars. Yet, instead of addressing this issue, the province is fueling the cycle—raising the female cougar hunting quota from 24 last winter to 68 this winter.
The Wild Sheep Foundation, which is well-funded, has a clear goal: increasing wild sheep populations so its members can hunt more sheep. It actively promotes cougar hunting to achieve this and even donates money to fight attempts to ban it.
So, the question remains: why would the province raise female cougar quotas when doing so only leads to more wildlife conflicts?
Do Cougars Need Managed?
The Alberta government maintains that managing predators like wolves, coyotes, and cougars is necessary to protect wild ungulates—such as sheep, deer, elk, and moose—from excessive predation. According to the province, ungulate populations would decline significantly without predator control.
However, wildlife photographer and conservationist John E. Marriott challenges this claim. When TheRockies.Life asked Marriott if mass killings of coyotes, wolves, and cougars are essential to protecting ungulates; he pointed to our national parks, where hunting and trapping are prohibited. “Why aren’t these parks overrun with predators decimating ungulate populations?” Marriott concluded, “Plainly put, humans are not needed by nature to balance predator-prey relationships.”
Marriott also disputed the idea that cougars threaten Alberta’s ungulates. “There is no current data or science that shows cougars are causing Alberta ungulate populations to decline,” he said. “The science is also clear that cougar populations do not need to be ‘managed.’ Cougars self-regulate their own populations through territorial defence. There is no such thing as an ‘exploding cougar population that wipes out all the deer, sheep, or game.’”
For those interested in learning more about cougar-prey dynamics, Marriott recommended The Cougar Conundrum by biologist Dr. Mark Elbroch.
Conflicts and Causes
Meanwhile, Alberta’s growing elk population is causing economic hardship for cattle ranchers, who say elk herds are depleting their winter feed stores. Many ranchers are calling on the government to act by increasing compensation for their losses or expanding elk hunting permits.
Some ranchers argue that a lack of predators has led to an elk population boom. Ironically, despite these concerns, wolves, coyotes, and cougars are still widely regarded as “vermin” and are actively hunted across the province. Some ranchers even support predator-killing contests to increase deer, elk, and moose numbers.
Yet, predator-prey populations remain balanced in larger parks and protected areas. This raises questions about Alberta’s current wildlife management strategies, which contribute to ongoing human-wildlife conflicts.
Looking at other regions, California has protected cougars from hunting and trapping since 1990 under the California Wildlife Protection Act. Despite increasing cougar numbers, ungulate populations have remained stable or even grown in some areas. Similarly, studies from U.S. national parks like Yellowstone suggest that apex predators help prevent overgrazing by controlling ungulate populations.
Bu has cougar-human conflict increased in California over time? The short answer is yes. But the long answer is more complicated.
Since 1990, California’s human population has grown by 10 million, with 75% of cougar habitats within 10 miles of urban edges. GPS collar data reveal cougars increasingly navigating freeways and backyards—a behaviour virtually absent pre-1990. This forced proximity elevates conflict risks irrespective of cougar population trends, which remain stable at 4,000–6,000 animals statewide.
Expanded outdoor recreation post-2000—particularly hiking, trail running, and rural tourism—has doubled human presence in cougar territories. A 2023 California Department of Fish and Wildlife study linked 68% of non-fatal encounters to recreational activities conducted during dawn/dusk when cougars hunt.
Recent models project that prolonged droughts and wildfires—which displace prey species—could push cougars into human-occupied areas 23% more frequently by 2035
Given all the evidence above, should Albertans reconsider the effectiveness of cougar hunting as a wildlife management tool? And should a U.S.-based organization like the Wild Sheep Foundation that actively promotes cougar hunting be allowed to reward hunters under the guise of “conservation management” in Alberta?
Who’s in charge here? Albertan or foreign interests?
Alberta could take a step toward more sustainable management by banning the hunting of female cougars. Removing breeding females often results in the deaths of dependent cubs and may increase cougar-human conflicts, which nobody wants.
The recent case of the killing of a cougar mom, leaving behind two orphaned cougars, brings these questions into sharp focus. It highlights the need to reconsider current wildlife management practices in the province.
