Cougar on the prowl in residential area

The cougars that have been sighted wandering around Sisters Country over the last month or so caused a great deal of excitement on the slopes of McKinney Butte last Saturday. Kris Kristovich, photographer and high school cross-country coach, who has a home on the butte, stumbled onto a badly injured mule deer doe - the results of what he believes was a botched cougar attack last Saturday morning.

"That little doe looked very badly chewed up," Kris reported to the The Nugget - after a quick perusal to make sure there wasn't a cougar still lurking in the underbrush. He then called Deputy Richard John who suggested he call 911 and report the incident.

When Deputy John arrived on the scene he found the doe bleeding from both ends with open wounds, clumps of hair missing and standing motionless.

"Even though the doe was pretty badly injured," John stated, "the protocol about euthanizing injured deer would not allow me to shoot it. Euthanizing protocols state that if the deer is still standing on its own, it must be given every opportunity to recover on its own."

Kris and McKinney Butte residents spent several hours Sunday morning looking for what they expected to be a dead deer, but from the absence of anything resembling a dead deer of or new violence, it appears the doe may have survived and wandered off, giving creditability to the protocols.

Or perhaps the cougars came back and finished the job.

There was some discussion that the injured doe may have been the victim of a dog attack, and not a cougar at all, but Kristovich believes firmly that it was a cougar, or perhaps two young cougars that attacked the deer. The latter viewpoint is supported by USFS Wildlife Biologist, Monty Gregg. That may make sense, as two young cougars had been spotted earlier in the general area.

Young cougars, developing skills to make a deer kill, sometimes botch it, resulting in a deer wandering around with holes in its body and a lot of hair missing. The doe Kristovich reported had open wounds on the back and haunches with serious-looking injuries.

If it had been an adult cougar making the attack on the doe, in all probability the job would have ended in the deer's death and a hearty meal for the cougar.

"An adult cougar goes for the neck by jumping on the deer's back," Gregg said, "but a youngster - or this case, perhaps two of them - would try to get the deer down any way they could, and the puncture wounds on the McKinney Butte animal's flanks and neck seem to support this."

A volunteer is making two live traps for the US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Specialist biologists to use to capture the cougars that are causing so much excitement. If the nosy cats are captured, they will be transported (at least) 300 miles from where they are caught and released.

Immediately after the injured deer was discovered, Deputy John, who lives in the area, went door-to-door, warning people with pets and domestic animals to keep them inside.

If your dog raises a rumpus near your home some night, do not go outside to investigate. Dogs are much more capable of hearing and smelling a cougar near your home than you are. If you must investigate, use a powerful flashlight and go from room to room, shining the light in the yard.

"Do not go outside with a firearm with the idea you can shoot a cougar wandering through the neighborhood," warns Deputy John. "If you're not careful you could unintentionally shoot your neighbor, or do damage to someone else's property. Let the professionals handle it."

Report signs of cougar activity to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife office in Bend: 541-388-6363. Call 911 in an emergency.