News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters area resident Shirley Weber experienced a rare and exciting encounter with a cougar while walking her dog in the woods north of Sisters on Sunday, April 18.
"I was with my dog and about 20 or 30 yards ahead of me there was a cougar just walking along, Weber told The Nugget. "It took off because my dog took off after it.
Luckily for the dog, he didn't catch the cat.
"My dog is about 70 pounds, Weber said. "I'd say this guy was twice as big - tan and a long, long tail.
That's about the mid-size range for a male cougar, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Steven George. Males range from 100 to 180 pounds, George said. Females are smaller - from 80 to about 120 pounds.
Weber said she turned and ran - although she knows that goes against the advice of wildlife experts. She kept calling her dog until, "he finally came and we ran all the way home, she said.
George confirmed that running isn't a good idea, since it seems to trigger the predatory instinct in the cats. As George puts it, a fleeing person makes them think "if something runs, this is something I'm supposed to chase.
If a hiker encounters a cougar, the best maneuver is to "just kind of back out of the area, George said.
The sighting occurred near Wilt Road about a mile from Junipine Acres.
George told The Nugget that he has received 10 to 15 reports of cougars in Central Oregon this spring, several of them in the Sisters area.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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