Regarding the apparently serious ‘threat’ posed by coyotes and cougars (Western News July 26), I would just make three comments:
Keep your cats indoors or otherwise enclosed so that coyotes or cougars can’t take them; they are only looking for food and, really folks, aren’t out to make your life unhappy. I lost a cat to a coyote before I got the wits to keep my felines well protected, but at least that was a useful death, as opposed to being hit by a car.
Instead of reporting coyotes to the conservation service or city, report anyone you see feeding any wildlife, and that includes ducks, geese and gulls. There ought to be fines for this ignorant behaviour, but it seems we’ve got a ways to go yet before that happens.
There’s a lot of talk about wild animals not ‘respecting’ humans. How about some respect for them as creatures doing their best in their own way to make their way in a world that we make increasingly difficult for them to survive in? We live in a wild area in case some haven’t noticed; respect that or go somewhere where you’re not ‘inconvenienced’ by the reality of being close to wilderness.
Eva Durance
Penticton