Rare Attack Prompts Oregon Cougar Hunt

SILETZ, Ore. —  Government hunters are trying to track down a cougar in the northern Coast Range that got into a fight with a man feeding his neighbor’s cats, the first known injury to a person in Oregon since 1972.

Ken Jones told wildlife agents a small cougar caught him with a swipe across the lower leg on Wednesday, but disappeared into the woods after he hit it in the head with a shovel three or four times, said Pat Wray of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Tracks in the area appeared to confirm Jones’ story, Wray said.

A hunter for the U.S. Department of Agriculture brought in hounds Thursday, but the scent and tracks had been diffused by rain, and the dogs weren’t successful, Wray said.

Another set of hounds, specifically trained to hunt cougars, was later brought in to take up the hunt. Plans call for spreading sand around the house to pick up tracks if the cougar returns, and setting out a live trap and snares. If the cougar is caught, it will be killed.

“Cougars don’t get a second chance,” Wray said.

Two women died in cougar attacks in California in 1994, but only 13 deaths have been recorded in the United States and Canada since 1890. Attacks have been rare in Oregon. The last known case where a person was injured was in 1972, when a cougar pounced on a teenage boy walking on a rural road near Junction City. The boy received minor injuries.

The Siletz man was feeding the neighbor’s cats when he heard a growl behind him, Wray said.

“He picked up a shovel and there was an ensuing melee,” Wray said. “He ran back into the house and made a call to 911. Evidently he watched the cat disappear out the backyard and into the woods.”

Cougars don’t normally growl before attacking, so it appears the animal was surprised by Jones rather than stalking him, Wray said.

The cougar appeared to be a small one, and may be a young animal recently put on its own by its mother feeding on the domestic cat food, Wray said. Cougars normally stay with the mother for two years before trying to establish their own territory.

Increasing numbers of cougars and humans have made it more difficult for young ones to establish a territory. Mature males will kill any other cougar that comes into their territory. Females will overlap territories.