Cougar suspected lurking in the Crossroads area

At least five reports of cougar tracks in the past week in Crossroads west of Sisters have residents on alert to protect themselves and their pets.

On Bluegrass Loop, Harold Jacobs found tracks a week ago Saturday and again a few days later.

“Last Tuesday, I was walking my dog after a new snowfall and I found more tracks on the east side of Crossroads,” Jacobs reported. At least three other Crossroads residents have found tracks near their home.

“There were two sets of tracks near our house on Trout Court a week ago,” Robert Walker, another Crossroads resident, said. “Even the scent of dogs in the neighborhood didn’t seem to make a difference.”

In recent years, actual sightings of cougars have been reported in and near Crossroads with one report of a family dog carried off by a cougar.

Oregonians have twice said through the initiative petition process that hounds may not be used to hunt cougars. As a result, Oregon’s cougar population has increased since 1994. Sightings and tracks have been reported in both rural and urban areas as more homes have been located near cougar habitat.

The cougar, largest member of the cat family in Oregon, has many other names: mountain lion, panther, puma and catamount. Pioneers viewed cougars as a threat to people and livestock and from 1843 until 1961 bounties were paid for cougars killed.

By 1961, the state’s cougar population had dropped to about 200. In 1967, the state legislature made the animal a game mammal regulated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) with controlled hunts allowed as the population grew. Today, an estimated 5,000 cougars roam almost all of Oregon with the largest populations in southwestern Oregon, the Blue and Wallowa Mountains of northeast Oregon and in the Cascade Mountains, according to ODFW.

Cougars weigh between 130 and 170 pounds and may grow from seven to eight feet long. They prefer cover as their habitat as they hunt deer, elk and small animals. Females give birth to two or three young between April and July. ODFW biologists believe that a female’s territory may cover up to 65 square miles while a male may have a territory of 150 to 200 square miles. Their mobility brings them into more contact with people while making it difficult to track their movements.

During the last 100 years, only 14 fatal cougar attacks have occurred on the entire North American continent, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation, a national environmental organization formed in California. In that time, more than 15,000 people were killed by lightning, 4,000 by bees, 10,000 by deer and 1,300 by rattlesnakes, the foundation reports. While there are no reports of fatal attacks by cougars in Oregon, there have been fatalities reported in Washington and California.

ODFW offers these suggestions should you encounter a cougar:

• Do not approach a cougar; give them room to escape since they prefer to avoid a confrontation with humans.

• Do not run from the animal, stand still and face it; pick up small children to keep them from running.

• Do all you can to appear larger, wave your arms slowly, open your jacket, and speak in a firm loud voice.

• Fight back if attacked, try to remain standing and protect your head and neck; throw rocks and sticks, use anything you have available to fight off an attack.

Prevention of any encounter is the best safety tip that ODFW biologists offer:

• Do not hike alone; travel in groups with adults supervising children.

• Don’t feed wildlife because attracting deer and other animals to your area will also attract the cougar.

• Landscape your yard to avoid having dense cover near houses, walkways and children’s play areas.

• Install outdoor lighting around the perimeter of your home.

• Protect pets by providing a secure kennel with a top and by not feeding them outside.

• Educate children on how to respond to an encounter with a cougar.

• Protect livestock with an enclosed barn or shed, especially when they are giving birth to young.