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[20 |, The South Marysburgh Mirror] THE LAST WORD Ontario has many wonderful characteristics that make it a unique place to explore and discover. It is almost a continent in its own right, stretching from the northemn artic wildemesses to the balmy borders of the 49", Parallel and our continental neighbours in the USA. It contains a remarkable variety of wildlife, flora and fauna that can still be seen in their natural surroundings. Sounds like something you have seen and read somewhere, possibly in a tourist guide or the likes. Right? Ontario and indeed all of Canada is truly a remarkable continent to visit and it attracts millions of tourists each and every year. Our tiny segment of this great continent is also an amazing place to visit and it is well advertised and promcied in magazines like ‘Bre: way,” ‘upfront,’ and the South Marysburgh Mirror. The traffic in Main Street this summer attests to that. I have a new feature article for the magazines and Tam really excited about it. I think it has all the hallmarks of being a tremendous draw for our tourist industry in ad- dition to the already well-established omithologist (‘birder’) attraction. It could be advertised in many ways and I am sure that some clever publisher (Des) will be “ible to produce exactly the right catch phrase for what might be an overnight success. Here is my suggestion: Come ani “Safari in The County.” I stumbled across this attraction when I read the words “Be on the lookout” in one of our local newspapers. It seems to be a follow-up to a previous article about an ape two or three months ago and it seems that we now have a new attraction for visitors, but be- ware, it could be dangerous. Prince Edward County is now home to a Cougar which has been spotted in the Redners- ville area. These creatures are normally found in mountain- ous wilderness places and so it will be of great interest to the zoological community to know that this protected creature is now making its home a small island off southem Ontario. Add to this the exciting news that a black bear has been sighted several times in other parts of the County and we egin to wonder what the next discovery will produce. Truth is that The County can do very well as a tourist attraction without resorting to sensationalism, and as you will have gathered, my thoughts bear (forgive the unintended pun) just a tinge of sarcasm. I have no problem with our natural wildlife other than the odd pesky coon (a lot of them around this year) and the multitude of the squirrel variety that abound in our forested areas. I don’t even have a problem with the sighting of a black bear (but please don’t come here) which is a possibility bearing in mind our proximity to its more natural habitat to the north. A Cougar is quite a different matter. Logic says that it did not walk here from British Columbia where we might ex- pect to find them. Reason says that someone has lost an animal (pet!!!!) and is keeping quiet about it. Well the “cat’ is out of the bag, so to speak and the MNR is now in- volved. We have all read and in some cases seen what a Pit Bull can do to a human being, and that breed has to the best of my knowledge, now thankfully been outlawed in Ontario. I cannot begin to think what a hungry Cougar might do. SURELY, SURELY, DECISIVE AND IMME- PUZZLE SOLUTION faje[DIRU i V[e[RMMM[A[D IAM] 55 28 DOWN EN(COD)E TR(A-V)AILS EX-TENSION -C-IN-G -TA OVERSPENT (anag, never stop) DOWN UPTS (anag.t bunk parts) RAGE (anag. gear) MATADORS (anag. a mad sort) DO-OR-S GerMAN-HAT-TANner ‘TEN-DE-REST F-(LAG (gal rev.) ) RANCE ABORIGINE (anag. A Genii b 1 C-ABD (anag. bad) -RIVER turBAN-DAN-NAbbed 6 .. 9 A(N)NUL (Luna rev.) CU-(TI (it rev.) E NIGHT (anag, thing) G-OWN SIGH-T KremlIN-FOR-MAN. NOSTALGIA (anag. 1s ane alot) DIATE ACTION MUST BE TAKEN, NOT ONLY BY PE COUNCIL, BUT BY THE ONTARIO GOVERN- MENT ON THE SUBJECT OF EXOTIC ‘PETS’ AND SO-CALLED PRIVATE ZOOS. Failure to do so places, in my estimation, a heavy legal burden of liability on PE Council members. Any at- tack by such a creature would inevitably result in court action with PE Council potentially being sued for failing to have effective control on those who keep dangerous an- imals. Does council really need this responsibility hanging over its ‘head’ like a sword of Damocles? Surely the an- swer is to name and ban the keeping of dangerous species (including reptiles i.e. venomous snakes etc) and encour- age those who wish to have them in their possession find another place to live if they so choose. I leave you to be the judge (and jury) but for me the answer is clear: PECouncil must now act decisively and i ly or face the when the inevi- table happens. Continued on page 19