Cougar passing through Sisters

An adult cougar, probably a male, left tracks when he wandered through Kim and Kelly Renwick's back yard near McKinney Butte last Tuesday, May 20.

McKinney Butte is only a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Camp Polk for a cougar--where one killed a deer and stashed it away near a home last year.

After observing the cougar's tracks, Kim Renwick's first thoughts were for the safety of her two small children, Kathleen 8, and Kristine 3. While one should not ignore the potential danger, there is no reason for alarm.

This is the time of the year when deer are migrating through the Sisters area, leaving their wintering habitat, and slowly roaming through the juniper, sage and pine forests toward their summer haunts in the Cascades.

Cougar depend on deer as a food source, and will be reluctant to leave them for too long. Ancestral deer trails criss-cross all through the Sisters area--a few of those through back yards of homes. Because of these factors, deer, cougar and human contact may be inevitable.

If you see a cougar:

· Never turn your back on the animal and try to run away. That's the number one safe step.

· Face the cougar, wave your arms at it and shout. Let the mountain lion know that you are a human.

· Do not lose eye contact. Strange as it may seem, eye contact is vital while information is being transmitted between cougar and human.

· If you have a dog with you on a leash, keep it that way, and allow (encourage) the dog to bark at the animal, but not chase it.

· Maintain eye contact with the cougar and slowly retreat toward the safety of your home. If the animal moves toward you, shout louder and throw a stick or rock at it. If it turns and runs, leave it at that and go home.

· Keep domestic pets inside at night. If possible, keep livestock near the outbuildings after dark.

Call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife if you see (or have contact with) a cougar within sight of your home. If a threat is certain between cougar and your family and property, ODFW will remove the animal from the vicinity.

As long as the deer herds, rabbits, and other wild food sources are available, there is very little chance of bumping into a cougar, or the animal harming a human, domestic pet, or livestock.

As the Renwicks are quick to point out, "We have moved into the domain of so many wild animals, we want to be informed of their needs and be good neighbors."