Conservation, wildlife groups say conflicts between humans and animals inevitable

By: THE CANADIAN PRESS REGINA - Some wildlife officials in Saskatchewan say there will probably be more cases of large predators wandering into urban areas and having to be shot. Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, said Wednesday he was surprised to hear that conservation officials shot and killed a cougar from South Dakota in the yard of a home in Saskatoon on Tuesday. A conservation officer decided that the animal posed a risk to humans. Crabbe said urban sprawl, an increasing number of country homes and a rise in predator populations mean there are likely to be more encounters with cougars, coyotes or bears. "We're cutting into some areas where those predators lived previously," he said. "And now the exposure to the public is increasing." In an interview from his office in Moose Jaw,... [read full story]