A University of Saskatchewan graduate student is looking for information on cougars. 

Tammie Windsor is attempting to get an accurate count of cougars, their location and travelling patterns.

She's hoping to hear from farmers and ranchers on any cougar sightings, or signs that they have been in the area such as scat, tracks, dead deer or livestock.

"Even if they've seen something like five or ten years ago that's still important, because that can tell me how cougars might be moving across the landscape over time."

Windsor will be collecting reports for the duration of the project over the next 2.5 years for the Prairie Cougar Research Project .

She says the success of the project heavily relies on the public to report their observations. 

The Prairie Cougar Research Project will serve as a database for additional research on population distribution, habitat selection and other ecological factors.

According to Windsor, despite extensive research on cougars throughout North America, Saskatchewan cougars have received minimal attention due to an assumption of having few cats. 

An increase of reports from the public and accounts of GPS-collared cats travelling through the province alludes to a larger population than originally suspected.

The Prairie Cougar Research Project is sanctioned and sponsored by the USask Department of Biology’s Animal Population Ecology Lab. 

The project supervisor is Dr. Philip McLoughlin (PhD), professor in the USask College of Arts and Science.

To report evidence of a cougar sighting within Saskatchewan, please contact Tammie Windsor at sk.cougars@usask.ca or 306-713-3639. 

You can also fill out a survey here.