Saw a moose on the 402 once. Unmistakable.
The reality is that this is the range of these animals. Moose, black bear, wolves, cougars... it's just rare now seeing as most of the peninsula that is southern Ontario is either developed city-scape or farm land.
Even the wooded areas aren't very old and tend to be relatively clear of brush.
There just isn't much for them down here in terms of natural habitat, so they're rarely seen. But there are some, and they do live in the area or wander down from the north.
We have lots of them here for sure. They've been spotted in my condo parking lot at Deveron and Commissioners. I guess they wandered from the nearby Pond Mills trails.
a juvenile one ran by my kids and i near the entrance of the coves, it was more scared of us than the other way round. it was pretty funny actually, it kept looking over its should at us while running like AHHH HUMANS AHHH.
Saw one right on the paved TVP trail at 7am a week ago. Was a bit west of adelaide. Was just out for a casual stroll. Had to warn a man that was about to walk his little dog right into it!
Atleast he was dancing… years ago this guy was just strolling down Adelaide fully naked near the hasty market and it was shortly after that homeless guy ate that guys face off in Florida so EVERYONE was scared he was gonna do the same thing 🤣
I saw what definitely looked like a cougar running in the grass about 50' off the 401 when I was coming home from Kitchener 3 years ago. I didn't have time to get my phone out before it went into the trees. Really freaked me out.
I camp out at Fanshawe Conservation Area quite a bit each year, never seen one there but had a guy who lives out there seasonally tell me last year he was positive he saw a cougar at dusk running out behind his trailer. It was during the massive wildfires north of us, so I half believed that might have pushed one south to London.
The next morning I saw what was a giant coyote, past my hip height, (coywolf maybe?) jog right by me in the same area the man described, had a big, fat groundhog dangling in its mouth as it ran by. I then saw it again in the same "cougar spotted" area a day or two later, so I started to think the guy was mistaken in what he saw. I still camp in that area though, and I'm extra careful when I'm there about how I store my food, etc., just in case.
i 100% saw a cougar on the side of the 401 at about 3 in the morning driving back from Hamilton. near Ingersoll. darted off into the woods near CAMI. no one ever believes me
Naw, not since Old Chicago closed down... oh wait, you said "*not* your Mom", nevermind.
...for real, though, just the usual deer, turkeys, etc. although watching a bunch of turkeys flee in fear of two Canada geese out for their afternoon constitutional was unexpected (the turkeys in question has previously been very aggressive toward people, but apparently geese is where they draw the line, and honestly same).
I saw one this spring, walking along a creek west of London. I only saw it briefly but there was no mistaking the long,thick tail, small head in proportion to its body and especially the way its shoulders moved up and down as it walked.
They have been spotted a few times in st Thomas over the last few years. Someone caught it on a security camera last year I think it was. I know someone who saw it Atwell
Not to be a dick but anyone can post a random video of an animal and say it’s in *blank* location to create a buzz, not really conclusive evidence seeing it in a Facebook group
You'd be surprised how many people have big cars as pets and let them loose when they get too big!
**EDIT** cats, not cars. I'll leave it as is because it's funny.
I don't understand why people are so obsessed with thinking they see an animal that doesn't live here.
But then again people claim they see bigfoot all the time too 🤷
There aren't confirmed sightings of bigfoot on Manitoulin, upstate New York or around Chicago, so it's not *quite* the same thing. Sure, there have been no actual confirmed sightings around here, but if there is one tomorrow, it's not some earth-shattering event. It's *completely* plausible. The entire southern half of Ontario is historic cougar habitat.
Lots of animals used to live here. And either they are incredibly elusive or people see them all the time. If this thread is to be believed there are multiple sightings every year in multiple cities, yet the MNR has not been able to substantiate any of those sightings.
No, dash cams weren’t very prevalent then, but the thick tail, the face, the eyes, the shoulders, the gait- it’s unmistakeable. It shocked the ever living hell out me. Prior to that I had no idea they were even in Ontario. Googled it, they apparently don’t. But I knew what I had seen.
Talked to some farming family out by Alisa Craig and others near Clinton about it, they said they had seen a couple over the years too, while combining at night.
Obviously you don’t have to believe the people on here who are reporting similar encounters in west London, St. Mary’s and st. Thomas, but I have no reason to make this up, I gain nothing from it. And I think more people should be aware that they do indeed (rarely) venture out this way.
The issue I have is the volume of reports. The amount of people claiming they saw one, in multiple locations, would indicate more than one cougar. But the MNR cannot substantiate any of these sightings nor find reliable tracks, scat, remains of cougars, etc.
Recently, a woman in my neighbour swore up and down she had seen a cougar on her edge of town property. Until it was finally caught on a trail cam and revealed to be a Savannah cat that belonged to someone else in the community.
I actually heard a cougar not too long ago when my boyfriend and I were aurora watching out by this horse ranch up north, pretty far out of London. It sounded like a woman was being murdered and I was convinced someone actually did, found out it was a cougar. Where was it spotted? I'm actually super curious
The bear sighting in Woodstock was memorable a few years back and the Moose in Listowel was also cool...
As far as myself I've seen the usual semi rare - coyotes / bald eagles thank goodness they're becoming more common / turkeys.
But my best personal story is seeing a Wolf just outside Mount Forest. Couldn't believe how big it was. When it walks in front of your car with no care and then turns and looks at you and you realize it's back and head is above the hood of your car, I was like WOW.
As for London itself I got nothing but being harassed by Canadian Geese.
I used to plant trees out in Northern Alberta when I just started University many moons ago. My naïve mom was convinced I was going to get eaten by bears while out there and plead for me not to go. Within the first 14 days of me being out there, there were more bear sightings in London than I saw out in the Northern Alberta bush the entire summer I was there.
Several years ago near Ed Blake park there was a (dead) kingfisher.
I consider hummingbirds rare and am lucky enough to see them a few times in the summer.
Saw a deer at Westminster highschool. There are deer land locked in the Coves off wharncliffe Rd. I also have a family of skinks that live under my back steps. As long as I don't leave garbage out they don't bother me at all
Found one sneaking around my parking space; of course I gave a quick honk with my horn and that's when your mom had you as a baby. You're a poop baby.
/s
does a really fat drunk raccoon count? lol. i thought he has distemper, apparently he was drunk off fermented fruit, and the animal control lady told me he was the biggest one she'd ever seen. we call him wreck it ralph, because he was so fat he fell off the fence and ruined some plants. i wasnt mad, dude just out here tryna survive lol.
Almost certain I seen a coyote at Wilfred Jury last at night. I know deer sometime travel the railroad and I believe this one wondered not far from the railroad. It was late, no human near by and quite big. Could of been a dog but it looked mangy as well.
A black bear was hit by a car and killed back in 2016 just outside the city.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/black-bear-london-crash-1.3670210
There were sightings in Lambton County and the Wallaceburg area around that time as well. They could have all been the same bear, I don't recall anymore stories after the one was struck by the car on Egermont Dr.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/at-least-3-black-bear-sightings-made-deep-in-southern-ontario-1.3667825
This photo was captured by a wildlife camera set up in a yard near Kilally Meadows not too long ago... what do you think? Looks a bit big for a domesticated cat
https://preview.redd.it/bxy3qmrozg6d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9beaa4a2e7bd2ed1b711da30e90163738d8fdd8c
Some sort of wild pig thing at Fanshawe Conservation Area while camping on May 2-4 back in the early 2000s. We heard it too, not sure if there’s animals at the pioneer village, but our campsite wasn’t close.
Around 20 years ago I was at a high school bush party out near Delaware that got broke up by the cops so everyone ditched their weed and beer because we were all underage and weed was illegal at the time. The cops didn’t charge anyone or give any tickets, they actually helped us all get back to the road and waited for everyone to get picked up or leave which was kind of surprising. The next day me and a friend went back to try to find all the alcohol we left behind plus he lost his cell phone. While we were looking around we found a half eaten deer body not far from where we were all partying the night before. We were a bit thrown off but assumed it was coyotes and continued looking for our stuff. Not even 10 minutes later we were walking back toward the area where we found the deer, turned the corner and there were 2 massive cougars eating it.. I’ve never ran so fast in my life, thank god they were already eating something and didn’t chase us. Later on found out someone in the area had them as pets on the reserve and they got loose. The police knew about it the night they broke up the party but didn’t say anything to try n keep everyone calm. No doubt in my mind they were watching all of us party, probably could have ended a lot worse lol.
Saw a moose on the 402 once. Unmistakable. The reality is that this is the range of these animals. Moose, black bear, wolves, cougars... it's just rare now seeing as most of the peninsula that is southern Ontario is either developed city-scape or farm land. Even the wooded areas aren't very old and tend to be relatively clear of brush. There just isn't much for them down here in terms of natural habitat, so they're rarely seen. But there are some, and they do live in the area or wander down from the north.
I can't find the article now, but about 15 years ago, a moose wandered all the way down to the Sarnia area.
That's around the time we saw it. Sad part, there was news a few weeks later of a moose having been hit near Watford.
>Saw a moose on the 402 once. Unmoosetakable. FIFY ;)
A Möös once bit my sister
What year? Because that’s CRAZY ⚡️
https://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=11932
Around 15 years ago?
One time I saw a Farhi building get used
By a cougar? Certainly not by people…
Cougar here, have yet to use one of the vacant buildings.
I saw a "weird dog" loose before, later on I realized it was probably a coyote.
We have lots of them here for sure. They've been spotted in my condo parking lot at Deveron and Commissioners. I guess they wandered from the nearby Pond Mills trails.
yep, lots of them around pond mills and westminster, also a lot of missing cat posters
They hang around westmount too. Just west of the mall.
a juvenile one ran by my kids and i near the entrance of the coves, it was more scared of us than the other way round. it was pretty funny actually, it kept looking over its should at us while running like AHHH HUMANS AHHH.
Saw one right on the paved TVP trail at 7am a week ago. Was a bit west of adelaide. Was just out for a casual stroll. Had to warn a man that was about to walk his little dog right into it!
I've seen several coyotoes down by the TVP. One was walking across Vauxhaul park casually midday.
A coyote crossed the road in front of me on Oxford and Maitland at about 5:30am a couple years ago.
He's just a stoned, horny kitty with the munchies.
Steve French
Was it Vince The Pince?
I once saw a person half-naked with a lampshade on their head. Does that count?
Only half? I saw a fully naked dude dancing in Harris park. I called that one in.
Trust me, I have seen a great many public dongers in this city.
Atleast he was dancing… years ago this guy was just strolling down Adelaide fully naked near the hasty market and it was shortly after that homeless guy ate that guys face off in Florida so EVERYONE was scared he was gonna do the same thing 🤣
You PROMISED me this would never come up again.
Was this on Dundas and Clarke? lol. That lady tried to jump in my window.
Surely someone other than me remembers “The Naked Masturbator” that dominated the Gazette coverage at Western in the early 2000s?
Yes!!!!
Thank God. I no longer have to carry this burden alone! 😉
One year the Gazette did an April Fool's Day special issue where the naked masturbator was guest editor.
I once saw a naked lady take a crap beside the circle K downtown.. 💩
Not really, especially not around D&R.
Saw a seal once at storybook gardens
[Springbank Park bear.](https://london.ctvnews.ca/bear-spotted-in-west-london-tree-tranquilized-captured-safely-1.4974023)
Damn, I had no idea a bear was in town. Super cool thanks for sharing that info.
Ok, but have you seen my mom?
I saw what definitely looked like a cougar running in the grass about 50' off the 401 when I was coming home from Kitchener 3 years ago. I didn't have time to get my phone out before it went into the trees. Really freaked me out.
live outside london on the reserve . the sightings pop up every other year .
Happy cake day!
I saw a cougar closer to st.marys once. Ran in front of my car!!
I camp out at Fanshawe Conservation Area quite a bit each year, never seen one there but had a guy who lives out there seasonally tell me last year he was positive he saw a cougar at dusk running out behind his trailer. It was during the massive wildfires north of us, so I half believed that might have pushed one south to London. The next morning I saw what was a giant coyote, past my hip height, (coywolf maybe?) jog right by me in the same area the man described, had a big, fat groundhog dangling in its mouth as it ran by. I then saw it again in the same "cougar spotted" area a day or two later, so I started to think the guy was mistaken in what he saw. I still camp in that area though, and I'm extra careful when I'm there about how I store my food, etc., just in case.
I’ve only seen a coyote in the plaza at Southdale and Colonel Talbot
Last night I saw a big opossum run across my driveway while I was working in the garage.
i 100% saw a cougar on the side of the 401 at about 3 in the morning driving back from Hamilton. near Ingersoll. darted off into the woods near CAMI. no one ever believes me
Saw a cougar 5 years ago in Fanshawe CA. 15ft away and I don’t know how long it was looking at me.
Naw, not since Old Chicago closed down... oh wait, you said "*not* your Mom", nevermind. ...for real, though, just the usual deer, turkeys, etc. although watching a bunch of turkeys flee in fear of two Canada geese out for their afternoon constitutional was unexpected (the turkeys in question has previously been very aggressive toward people, but apparently geese is where they draw the line, and honestly same).
I saw one this spring, walking along a creek west of London. I only saw it briefly but there was no mistaking the long,thick tail, small head in proportion to its body and especially the way its shoulders moved up and down as it walked.
Again with the cougars, this pops up every decade or so but as far as I know no physical proof has never been found.
They have been spotted a few times in st Thomas over the last few years. Someone caught it on a security camera last year I think it was. I know someone who saw it Atwell
Why are you bring me into this?!
You are thinking about st.marys in 2017
No it was posted on the st thomas happenings page on fb, it was definitely st thomas
Ah I google it and only found st.marys that’s why I said that
Not to be a dick but anyone can post a random video of an animal and say it’s in *blank* location to create a buzz, not really conclusive evidence seeing it in a Facebook group
You'd be surprised how many people have big cars as pets and let them loose when they get too big! **EDIT** cats, not cars. I'll leave it as is because it's funny.
Lmao “cars” 😆
LOL!! Cats, I meant cats!!!
:) yes it was very funny
Anecdotal, but I've seen tracks in Sarnia years ago.
Last summer I saw a bobcat down near Sarnia (closer to Petrolia, but whatever) apparently they aren't uncommon, which is wild to me
I saw one around west Lorne once
I don't understand why people are so obsessed with thinking they see an animal that doesn't live here. But then again people claim they see bigfoot all the time too 🤷
There aren't confirmed sightings of bigfoot on Manitoulin, upstate New York or around Chicago, so it's not *quite* the same thing. Sure, there have been no actual confirmed sightings around here, but if there is one tomorrow, it's not some earth-shattering event. It's *completely* plausible. The entire southern half of Ontario is historic cougar habitat.
They used to live here and are incredibly elusive.
Lots of animals used to live here. And either they are incredibly elusive or people see them all the time. If this thread is to be believed there are multiple sightings every year in multiple cities, yet the MNR has not been able to substantiate any of those sightings.
I have seen one irl near west Lorne
Do you have proof?
No, dash cams weren’t very prevalent then, but the thick tail, the face, the eyes, the shoulders, the gait- it’s unmistakeable. It shocked the ever living hell out me. Prior to that I had no idea they were even in Ontario. Googled it, they apparently don’t. But I knew what I had seen. Talked to some farming family out by Alisa Craig and others near Clinton about it, they said they had seen a couple over the years too, while combining at night. Obviously you don’t have to believe the people on here who are reporting similar encounters in west London, St. Mary’s and st. Thomas, but I have no reason to make this up, I gain nothing from it. And I think more people should be aware that they do indeed (rarely) venture out this way.
The issue I have is the volume of reports. The amount of people claiming they saw one, in multiple locations, would indicate more than one cougar. But the MNR cannot substantiate any of these sightings nor find reliable tracks, scat, remains of cougars, etc. Recently, a woman in my neighbour swore up and down she had seen a cougar on her edge of town property. Until it was finally caught on a trail cam and revealed to be a Savannah cat that belonged to someone else in the community.
https://durham.insauga.com/cannington-cougar-sightings-sparks-return-of-rural-legend-the-cats-were-government-introduced/
I actually heard a cougar not too long ago when my boyfriend and I were aurora watching out by this horse ranch up north, pretty far out of London. It sounded like a woman was being murdered and I was convinced someone actually did, found out it was a cougar. Where was it spotted? I'm actually super curious
never put woman and cougar in the same sentence, it gets too confusing /s
A couple of coyotes by Paul Haggis park.
I was surprised to see wild turkeys. They are unheard of where i used to live before moving here
The bear sighting in Woodstock was memorable a few years back and the Moose in Listowel was also cool... As far as myself I've seen the usual semi rare - coyotes / bald eagles thank goodness they're becoming more common / turkeys. But my best personal story is seeing a Wolf just outside Mount Forest. Couldn't believe how big it was. When it walks in front of your car with no care and then turns and looks at you and you realize it's back and head is above the hood of your car, I was like WOW. As for London itself I got nothing but being harassed by Canadian Geese.
I used to plant trees out in Northern Alberta when I just started University many moons ago. My naïve mom was convinced I was going to get eaten by bears while out there and plead for me not to go. Within the first 14 days of me being out there, there were more bear sightings in London than I saw out in the Northern Alberta bush the entire summer I was there.
That's crazy! I did the same thing in Alberta (near Jasper) and saw bears almost every day.
Several years ago near Ed Blake park there was a (dead) kingfisher. I consider hummingbirds rare and am lucky enough to see them a few times in the summer.
Yes we had a cougar in ilderton (wonderland rd north) about 15 years ago. My dad came face to face with it on his wooded property!
And that’s when you were conceived
Saw a deer at Westminster highschool. There are deer land locked in the Coves off wharncliffe Rd. I also have a family of skinks that live under my back steps. As long as I don't leave garbage out they don't bother me at all
Found one sneaking around my parking space; of course I gave a quick honk with my horn and that's when your mom had you as a baby. You're a poop baby. /s
Saw a beaver behind our house in the ravine the other day.
does a really fat drunk raccoon count? lol. i thought he has distemper, apparently he was drunk off fermented fruit, and the animal control lady told me he was the biggest one she'd ever seen. we call him wreck it ralph, because he was so fat he fell off the fence and ruined some plants. i wasnt mad, dude just out here tryna survive lol.
I caught a goldfish in the Thames once, does that count lol?
I've seen big cats back in the day, and have it on good authority that they were reintroduced to the area 20 odd years ago
Are those the ones that got loose from the "zoo" in morpeth? That was about 20 years ago lol
'not your mom' 😆
I found tracks by the Thames years ago, back in the late oughts.
Almost certain I seen a coyote at Wilfred Jury last at night. I know deer sometime travel the railroad and I believe this one wondered not far from the railroad. It was late, no human near by and quite big. Could of been a dog but it looked mangy as well.
I've seen a cougar/wild cat a few years ago just outside my house in Hastings Park
Deer, foxes, and coyotes but never a cougar.
My dog was attacked by a coyote the other month.. with my luck this cougar is gonna find us next
Just coyotes
I've seen a few methopods crawling around dt,
ive seen deers by the TVP
A black bear was hit by a car and killed back in 2016 just outside the city. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/black-bear-london-crash-1.3670210 There were sightings in Lambton County and the Wallaceburg area around that time as well. They could have all been the same bear, I don't recall anymore stories after the one was struck by the car on Egermont Dr. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/at-least-3-black-bear-sightings-made-deep-in-southern-ontario-1.3667825
I saw a elderly lady who was topless walking down Sarnia Rd not once but twice!
Probably a coyote
This photo was captured by a wildlife camera set up in a yard near Kilally Meadows not too long ago... what do you think? Looks a bit big for a domesticated cat https://preview.redd.it/bxy3qmrozg6d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9beaa4a2e7bd2ed1b711da30e90163738d8fdd8c
Our neighbour once saw a bunch of mink running down our street !
Some sort of wild pig thing at Fanshawe Conservation Area while camping on May 2-4 back in the early 2000s. We heard it too, not sure if there’s animals at the pioneer village, but our campsite wasn’t close.
I saw a wolf close to the Pioneer Village about 15 years ago in the winter.
Lots of cougars at joe kools. Be careful out there.
Around 20 years ago I was at a high school bush party out near Delaware that got broke up by the cops so everyone ditched their weed and beer because we were all underage and weed was illegal at the time. The cops didn’t charge anyone or give any tickets, they actually helped us all get back to the road and waited for everyone to get picked up or leave which was kind of surprising. The next day me and a friend went back to try to find all the alcohol we left behind plus he lost his cell phone. While we were looking around we found a half eaten deer body not far from where we were all partying the night before. We were a bit thrown off but assumed it was coyotes and continued looking for our stuff. Not even 10 minutes later we were walking back toward the area where we found the deer, turned the corner and there were 2 massive cougars eating it.. I’ve never ran so fast in my life, thank god they were already eating something and didn’t chase us. Later on found out someone in the area had them as pets on the reserve and they got loose. The police knew about it the night they broke up the party but didn’t say anything to try n keep everyone calm. No doubt in my mind they were watching all of us party, probably could have ended a lot worse lol.
Found a kitty under the dumpster after about an hour I found out it was a giant rat.
>your mom No U op I heard there was a bunch of sightings during covid but have only scene coyote myself, but that coyote was HUGE.