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Man kills cougar with pocket knife
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
B.C. man kills cougar with pocket knife
Rare attack on a human
Ian Bailey
National Post
Saturday, August 03, 2002
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VANCOUVER - A retired mill worker is recovering in hospital today after he killed a cougar by using his pocket knife to stab the animal and then cut its throat, ending a life-and-death struggle that interrupted his evening walk near a Vancouver Island village.
Wildlife officials and residents of Port Alice are stunned by David Parker's victory over the 80-pound cat, left dead beside a logging road after its fight with the 62-year-old man.
Ken Fujino, district conservation officer for nearby Port Hardy, examined the dead cougar and said it was thin, "but didn't look like it was starving to death or anything like that."
Mr. Fujino said Mr. Parker, described as fit and strong, is very lucky to be alive. "An adult cougar is quite an animal," he said. "They are a lot stronger and quicker than human beings."
"They have got claws. They have got teeth. If [Mr. Parker] did not have a knife, I am sure the circumstances would be a little different," Mr. Fujino added.
But Mr. Parker, who lives in Port Alice with his wife, a retired nurse, did not emerge unscathed. He was listed in stable condition in a Victoria hospital last night after hours of surgery that reportedly focused on his face.
After his battle, Mr. Parker walked almost a kilometre until he stumbled upon logging worker Jeff Reaume and asked for a ride to the hospital in Port Alice, a community 500 kilometres north of Victoria.
Mr. Reaume yesterday described the whole experience as "unreal, unbelievable," recalling how he drove a calm Mr. Parker, his face torn and bloodied, for help.
Along the way, he cruised by the dead cat. "I saw the cougar on the side of the road as I was driving," Mr. Reaume said. "I said, 'You killed it.' He goes, 'I killed it with my knife.' I was like, 'Wow. Unreal.' "
The knife had a three-inch blade.
Mr. Parker was transported to hospital in Port Hardy, then flown to Victoria. "He knew what he was doing," Mr. Reaume said. "If he had not known what he was doing, I do not think he would still be here."
Larry Pepper, the Port Alice Mayor, agreed. "Having that knife in his pocket was the best thing he ever did. It's all right to say lay there and play dead once they knock you down, but when they're chewing the side of your face off that's not really easy to do."
Official advice on dealing with attacking cougars suggests the best response is to fight for survival, partly because they focus on prey to the exclusion of any distraction.
Wildlife officials are planning an autopsy on the cougar.
Cougar attacks on humans are rare. Sixty-one have been reported in B.C. in the last 100 years, resulting in eight deaths. In one especially tragic case in August, 1996, Cindy Parolin died near Princeton in southern B.C. after fighting a cougar that had attacked her six-year-old son.
Port Alice has had other attacks. In February, 2001, a mill worker used his bicycle, lunch pail and his bare fists to fight off a cougar mauling another man.
There are many cougars on Vancouver Island. One was found near the B.C. legislature a few years ago.
Cougars are known as efficient predators with strong jaws, speed, and the ability to conceal themselves.
They eat deer, elk, moose, rabbits, raccoons or grouse.
"They are very strong animals. They are agile. They can run fast, climb trees, jump long distances," said Lance Sunquist, regional enforcement manager for the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
c Copyright 2002 National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?id={C11BE0FC-FE33-4650-84D6-434941CD9265}
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Rare attack on a human
Ian Bailey
National Post
Saturday, August 03, 2002
ADVERTISEMENT
VANCOUVER - A retired mill worker is recovering in hospital today after he killed a cougar by using his pocket knife to stab the animal and then cut its throat, ending a life-and-death struggle that interrupted his evening walk near a Vancouver Island village.
Wildlife officials and residents of Port Alice are stunned by David Parker's victory over the 80-pound cat, left dead beside a logging road after its fight with the 62-year-old man.
Ken Fujino, district conservation officer for nearby Port Hardy, examined the dead cougar and said it was thin, "but didn't look like it was starving to death or anything like that."
Mr. Fujino said Mr. Parker, described as fit and strong, is very lucky to be alive. "An adult cougar is quite an animal," he said. "They are a lot stronger and quicker than human beings."
"They have got claws. They have got teeth. If [Mr. Parker] did not have a knife, I am sure the circumstances would be a little different," Mr. Fujino added.
But Mr. Parker, who lives in Port Alice with his wife, a retired nurse, did not emerge unscathed. He was listed in stable condition in a Victoria hospital last night after hours of surgery that reportedly focused on his face.
After his battle, Mr. Parker walked almost a kilometre until he stumbled upon logging worker Jeff Reaume and asked for a ride to the hospital in Port Alice, a community 500 kilometres north of Victoria.
Mr. Reaume yesterday described the whole experience as "unreal, unbelievable," recalling how he drove a calm Mr. Parker, his face torn and bloodied, for help.
Along the way, he cruised by the dead cat. "I saw the cougar on the side of the road as I was driving," Mr. Reaume said. "I said, 'You killed it.' He goes, 'I killed it with my knife.' I was like, 'Wow. Unreal.' "
The knife had a three-inch blade.
Mr. Parker was transported to hospital in Port Hardy, then flown to Victoria. "He knew what he was doing," Mr. Reaume said. "If he had not known what he was doing, I do not think he would still be here."
Larry Pepper, the Port Alice Mayor, agreed. "Having that knife in his pocket was the best thing he ever did. It's all right to say lay there and play dead once they knock you down, but when they're chewing the side of your face off that's not really easy to do."
Official advice on dealing with attacking cougars suggests the best response is to fight for survival, partly because they focus on prey to the exclusion of any distraction.
Wildlife officials are planning an autopsy on the cougar.
Cougar attacks on humans are rare. Sixty-one have been reported in B.C. in the last 100 years, resulting in eight deaths. In one especially tragic case in August, 1996, Cindy Parolin died near Princeton in southern B.C. after fighting a cougar that had attacked her six-year-old son.
Port Alice has had other attacks. In February, 2001, a mill worker used his bicycle, lunch pail and his bare fists to fight off a cougar mauling another man.
There are many cougars on Vancouver Island. One was found near the B.C. legislature a few years ago.
Cougars are known as efficient predators with strong jaws, speed, and the ability to conceal themselves.
They eat deer, elk, moose, rabbits, raccoons or grouse.
"They are very strong animals. They are agile. They can run fast, climb trees, jump long distances," said Lance Sunquist, regional enforcement manager for the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection.
c Copyright 2002 National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?id={C11BE0FC-FE33-4650-84D6-434941CD9265}
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
Boomer, still in awe
"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as it is by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed."
Wow!....once again, man fights his way to the top of the food chain....
Now Rembrandt, the story didn't say that Mr. Parker ate the animal after he killed it!
I might point-out too, he probably wouldn't be in the hospital if he had a little .38 tucked in his wasteband...but then we know the way those Canadians are about handguns...
Edited by - competentone on 08/04/2002 10:14:20
Boomer, still in awe
"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as it is by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed."
If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.
Rugster
Guys let's approach this from the anti's and PETA's point of view. Rugster mentioned bayonet. Maybe these people had the inside scoop on the future growth of the courgar population back in the late eighties and early nineties. Eliminating bayonet lugs, flash hiders, and magazine limitations would put the crowning glory of God's creation at the mercy of predators roaming the earth. This 20 year old with 42 years experience has blasted their hopes. He has proven that it doesn't take high capacity mags or bayonets. Just a simple pocket knife will do. What a guy. My bandanna's off to him. Brace yourselves
Brady will now include Swiss Army knives, Bucks, Hen @ Roosters, etc.
Edited by - 96harley on 08/05/2002 11:14:35
Guns are good, Guns are great... please don't throw them in the lake.
Edited by - Seth K. Perumeony on 08/05/2002 13:26:53
Recently a freind of mine bought a lot to build a home. While clearing and digging the foundation for the future home, a county inspector stumbled on a gopher (land tortise) passing through the lot. Everything came to a halt and he called for additional government reinforcements to pen the critter up with plastic snow fence. It stayed there for a couple of days until a certified gopher collector/relocator could remove and transport the gopher to an environmentally suitable area. The construction permit was suspended for several weeks while a crew of three county employees looked for gopher holes and more transient gophers in the area. Finally the lot was declared "gopher free". I now have a better understanding for the bumper sticker often seen on Florida highways, "Welcome to Florida, the state that extends more rights to the manatees than to school children".
My friend was billed $1,200.00 for the the gopher relocation and, as bad as that is, I know the county spent way more on the relocation than that. I wrote the county and asked why county residents couldn't relocate wayward gophers to approved sites themselves and save themselves and the county a lot of money. I haven't heard back but I pretty sure my suggestion will be viewed as, stupid. I also wrote a letter to the local mullet wrapper with the hope that it will get published and at least warn people about the consequences of finding a gopher on their property. Sorry for rambling but it really pi$$e$ me off.
Worry is the interest humans pay on the debt of miscalculation.