Deer killed by cougar along Squaw Creek

A large deer was killed by a cougar last week on Walt and Ruth Paul's place along Camp Polk Road.

Ruth Paul was taking a wheelbarrow-full of cuttings to her compost pile and discovered cougar tracks where there should have been nothing but wheelbarrow tracks. And right alongside the cougar tracks Ruth recognized the sign of where the lion had dragged a deer off.

Walt Paul has spent enough time out in the woods to know a deer-drag when he sees it, and set off to follow. About 300 yards from his place he discovered where the cougar had buried the deer under a pile of pine needles and forest duff.

Paul called Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife immediately, and notified them of the kill. When Claire Hunkel, district supervisor, asked Paul if he was going to return to the kill, he added, quietly, "Ummm, Walt...a suggestion... If you do go back up to check the deer again, may I suggest you carry a firearm -- just in case?"

Paul then called me and asked if I'd like to come out and photograph the kill. Unfortunately, I couldn't right at that moment, but I asked if he'd check it out next morning and call me if the cougar returned. He did, and it did.

As we were leaving his house the next day, Paul said, "Just a minute, Jim, I think I'll take along my pistol." Which was OK by me.

As Paul and I were slowly following the drag trail, commenting about the size of the tracks, and the strength of the lion as it dragged the deer up the steep slopes, he asked quietly, "Do you suppose it's watching us?" Way down inside I knew it was.

As we arrived at the kill, and began to inspect it, Paul exclaimed, "My, gosh! Look how much it ate in one night!" Then when we got to checking tracks, both of us came to the same conclusion: "It," was "they."

From all the varioius sized tracks we cut across there wasn't any question that the adult cougar has at least one cub traveling with it -- which would help to account for the considerable amount of deer consumed in just one night.

But then, a cougar and cub traveling through Walt and Ruth's place aren't a big mystery, or something exceptional. Last year, in early November, a cougar cub was hit by a vehicle on the country road right out in front of the Paul's place.

They are following the deer, as they have for eons.

If we could ask the cougar how long they've been traveling through this area, the answer would probably be, "Long before the army came to drive out the Indians, or any of you newcomers built your houses here."