November 6th, Citizen Science Program Follow Up: The Eastern Cougar with Kerry Gyekis
by Erin Johnson, Program Development Manager

America’s biggest wild cat, the cougar, made a brief appearance at The Schuylkill Center during the November 6th Citizen Science Program. In a wonderfully engaging slide presentation replete with photographs, Kerry Gyekis, Vice President of The Eastern Cougar Foundation informed the packed room about current projected ranges, habitat competition, known habits, conflicts with humans and with urban environments. Much like Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster, sightings of the elusive cougar are often later determined to be incorrectly identified house cats at a distance, Bobcats, other wildlife, or large dogs. As with other large predators, the cougar is an important indicator of ecosystem and game population health. With the reintroduction of other predatory animals such as the Red Wolf in Tennessee and North Carolina, or the Red Tailed Hawk and the Kestrel in New York City, humans are once again confronting age old fears about living in proximity with other top predators. Throughout the presentation, the audience was enthusiastic and transfixed--among them a cougar tracker, Wildlife Rehabilitator, and numerous other wildlife enthusiasts. At the conclusion of his presentation, Mr. Gyekis left us all with some important questions: how can humans reconcile the habitat needs of the cougar with our own needs for land? How can humans responsibly manage our historic fears of this elegant, fierce, and elusive hunter, the North American Cougar?

To learn more about the important work being conducted by The Eastern Cougar Foundation: http://www.easterncougar.org/

Join us at the next Citizen Science meeting on December 11th for a Panel on Green Buildings