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Why are cougars appearing
all across the Portland area?
Reasons could include deer,
development
In this AP file photo, Shanti the 2-year-old cougar licks the ice at his habitat at Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah, Ga., on July 2, 2014. (The Associated Press)
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on July 23, 2014 at 2:37 PM, updated July 25, 2014 at 3:09 PM
Cougar sightings are "rare," according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. But the
big cats have been spotted in five metro-area cities in the past
month, including two locations in Hillsboro.
City parks have been closed, and a cougar found July 4 in
Northeast Portland waseuthanized by state wildlife
officials, who said the animal had "lost its fear of people"
and could have preyed on neighborhood cats and dogs.
Hillsboro's Rood Bridge Park was closed Wednesday
morning after three such reports starting Tuesday evening.
City spokesman Patrick Preston said it would remain closed
until Thursday morning, at which time Parks & Recreation
officials will re-evaluate. ODFW has been asked to assist, but
the department could not do so immediately, and the rain would
have made a search difficult, Preston said.
In late June, Hillsboro's Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve was
closed twice in a week after "credible" cougar sightings.
Though city and state officials never located the animal,
one Hillsboro resident told The Oregonian that the animal got
within 30 feet of her on a preserve trail, close enough for her to
"count the whiskers" on its face.
Reported cougar sightings also came in this month from
Happy Valley, West Linnand Oregon City. The state is
home to more than 5,000 of the animals, also known as
mountain lions, according to ODFW.
Dana Sanchez, a wildlife extension specialist at Oregon State
University, said cougars may be moving into the Portland
area because of a possible increase in deer and other animals
the cats prey upon. "Cougars are large, mobile predators,
" Sanchez said. "They generally prey on deer, but where
deer and other food becomes available, cougars – especially
the younger, dispersing animals – will explore for other
opportunities."
She added that cougars are territorial and protective, so
younger ones often have to find their own home ranges
once they become "sub-adults.""And quite often, the
established adults already have the best places," Sanchez
said.
Don Whittaker, of the ODFW wildlife division, said "the
area surrounding the Portland-metro area and the suburbs
is good cougar habitat." "Cougar populations are healthy,
and the lifestyle choices that make quality of life in the
Portland area good also create avenues for animals to
come into the cities," he said, referring to the extensive
forests and trails that lead directly into urban zones.
But Whittaker cautioned that some of the reported
"sightings" might not be cougars at all. "There's
corridors to and from the wild areas, and there's
been a lot of attention in the public media that large
carnivores have been in the city," he said. "And so
people are aware and have been looking for things
like that sometimes. Sometimes they're real,
sometimes they're not."
The state Fish and Wildlife website has a section
devoted to "living with wildlife," which includes a
page about cougars. If you encounter one, the
guidelines say, do not run, maintain direct eye
contact and stand your ground –- and then back
away slowly. Cougars often will retreat if given
the opportunity, according to the agency.
Sanchez said area residents would do best to
familiarize themselves with the guidelines,
which include keeping pets indoors at dawn and dusk.
"I think that people do need to start becoming
aware that those animals might be in the areas
that they're using, especially in the more open, park-
like areas," she said.
Another reason mountain lions could be appearing
more often, Sanchez said, is increased development.
"Our cities and towns keep expanding," she said.
"As we go into those last patches where deer and
cougars might be living … we're going to be more
likely to potentially see them and encounter them."
-- Luke Hammill
big cats have been spotted in five metro-area cities in the past
month, including two locations in Hillsboro.
City parks have been closed, and a cougar found July 4 in
Northeast Portland waseuthanized by state wildlife
officials, who said the animal had "lost its fear of people"
and could have preyed on neighborhood cats and dogs.
Hillsboro's Rood Bridge Park was closed Wednesday
morning after three such reports starting Tuesday evening.
City spokesman Patrick Preston said it would remain closed
until Thursday morning, at which time Parks & Recreation
officials will re-evaluate. ODFW has been asked to assist, but
the department could not do so immediately, and the rain would
have made a search difficult, Preston said.
In late June, Hillsboro's Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve was
closed twice in a week after "credible" cougar sightings.
Though city and state officials never located the animal,
one Hillsboro resident told The Oregonian that the animal got
within 30 feet of her on a preserve trail, close enough for her to
"count the whiskers" on its face.
Reported cougar sightings also came in this month from
Happy Valley, West Linnand Oregon City. The state is
home to more than 5,000 of the animals, also known as
mountain lions, according to ODFW.
Dana Sanchez, a wildlife extension specialist at Oregon State
University, said cougars may be moving into the Portland
area because of a possible increase in deer and other animals
the cats prey upon. "Cougars are large, mobile predators,
" Sanchez said. "They generally prey on deer, but where
deer and other food becomes available, cougars – especially
the younger, dispersing animals – will explore for other
opportunities."
She added that cougars are territorial and protective, so
younger ones often have to find their own home ranges
once they become "sub-adults.""And quite often, the
established adults already have the best places," Sanchez
said.
Don Whittaker, of the ODFW wildlife division, said "the
area surrounding the Portland-metro area and the suburbs
is good cougar habitat." "Cougar populations are healthy,
and the lifestyle choices that make quality of life in the
Portland area good also create avenues for animals to
come into the cities," he said, referring to the extensive
forests and trails that lead directly into urban zones.
But Whittaker cautioned that some of the reported
"sightings" might not be cougars at all. "There's
corridors to and from the wild areas, and there's
been a lot of attention in the public media that large
carnivores have been in the city," he said. "And so
people are aware and have been looking for things
like that sometimes. Sometimes they're real,
sometimes they're not."
The state Fish and Wildlife website has a section
devoted to "living with wildlife," which includes a
page about cougars. If you encounter one, the
guidelines say, do not run, maintain direct eye
contact and stand your ground –- and then back
away slowly. Cougars often will retreat if given
the opportunity, according to the agency.
Sanchez said area residents would do best to
familiarize themselves with the guidelines,
which include keeping pets indoors at dawn and dusk.
"I think that people do need to start becoming
aware that those animals might be in the areas
that they're using, especially in the more open, park-
like areas," she said.
Another reason mountain lions could be appearing
more often, Sanchez said, is increased development.
"Our cities and towns keep expanding," she said.
"As we go into those last patches where deer and
cougars might be living … we're going to be more
likely to potentially see them and encounter them."
-- Luke Hammill
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