Cougar Annie was a pioneer who settled near Hesquiat Harbour in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Born Ada Annie Rae-Arthur, she moved to the land in 1915 with the first of her four husbands. She gave birth to at least eleven children, eight of them in this remote location. She acquired her nickname because of her famed marksmanship, which she learned while living with her family in South Africa. She shot dozens of cougars on her property over long life.
With little help, tools or electricity, Annie cleared her land and planted a sprawling garden. The garden was a source of income throughout her life, as she sold bulbs and plants by mail. She also operated a general store and post office from her plot of land.
Annie rarely left her property, where she lived until her nineties. Ailing and mostly blind, she was removed to Victoria, where she died.
Local resident Peter Buckland recovered Cougar Annie's garden. He helped to establish the Boat Basin Foundation, which manages the garden and runs the Temperate Rainforest Field Study Centre.
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