Brantford resident Linda King reported to police she had seen a wounded cougar beside the eastbound lanes of the highway near Lincoln Alexander Parkway in Hamilton early Sunday morning.

The animal appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and was unable to walk.

King told The Expositor police confirmed the animal was a cougar and that it was eventually killed and removed from the scene.

However, David Bauer, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, on Tuesday said the animal was an injured coyote.

“It wasn’t a cougar,” Bauer said. “Our people did look into it.”

During a telephone interview Tuesday, King said she simply wanted to help the animal she saw injured by the side of the highway.

Other sources on Tuesday confirmed the animal was a coyote. But Kee Dewdney, a respected University of Western Ontario professor who investigates cougar sightings, was at a loss to explain why initial reports said it was a cougar. Source...