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Hikers beware: cougars are lurking
■Cougar populations have
grown since a ban on hunt
ing, but the chance of an at
tack on a human is low
By Inge Scheve
for the Emerald
The presence of resident
cougars in Lane County has in
creased sharply over the last few
years, resulting in conflicts be
tween cougars and humans
whose livestock and pets are at
tacked.
Although only one Oregon in
cident, a 1972 Lane County at
tack, has resulted in bodily dam
age, it is only a matter of time
until a fatality will take place in
Oregon said Bill Castillo with the
Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
Fatalities have been reported
from other western states. In Cali
fornia and Washington, cougars
have killed joggers and hikers
along community running trails
on the outskirts of town.
In Arizona, a cougar attacked a
4-year-old girl in April. The girl
was camping with her family
when she was attacked. She was
then treated at a Phoenix hospital.
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“It’s just a matter of time before
we have the same thing here,”
Castillo said.
After handling an average of six
complaints annually in the 1980s,
ODFW now investigates over 100
claims per year.
Since 1994, ODFW has ob
served cougars become estab
lished residents on the
Willamette Valley floor. In the last
six years, ODFW has investigated
42 dead cougars in a 15-mile ra
dius of the Eugene-Springfield
city limits, Castillo said. Twenty
five years ago there were no re
ported resident cougars on the
Valley floor.
The boost in the cougar popu
lation is partly due to Measure 18,
which since 1994 has outlawed
the use of dogs to track down
cougars in Oregon.
“People need to understand
that by banning the use of dogs,
the result is that cougars are going
to be in populated areas,” Castil
lo said. “People are going to have
more encounters with cougars,
and the risk of being attacked in
creases.”
The majority of the complaints
are from people who own live
stock or live on the outskirts of
forests, he said. But with more
cougars in the area, Castillo also
expects more encounters between
cougars and hikers, runners and
other recreational forest users.
Environmental factors also de
termine the cougars’ behavior.
Their prey of choice is deer and
elk. Because of extended drought
in western states, the deer popu
lation is at a 20-year low, which
forces cougars to prey in populat
ed areas, said Kevin Bergersen of
the Arizona Department of Game
and Fish.
Cougars are predators that at
tack to kill. They stalk and am
bush their prey, and then with ex
treme quickness aim for the
prey’s throat or neck. Often, they
break the neck or the back of their
prey and then feed on the dead
animal for a day or two.
Unlike bears, which are scav
engers and can feed on dead car
casses for days, cougars will not
eat an aged corpse of an animal
they encounter.
The fact that cougars eat only
fresh meat makes them hard to
trap and track down, Castillo
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Cougar attacks on humans are rare, but experts warn hikers and outdoor recre
ationists to use caution when entering into cougar habitats, even in town.
said, especially because it is ille
gal to use dogs to hunt them.
ODFW traps bears by placing a
rotten piece of meat in a trap,
which smells enough to attract
the animal.
“A fresh piece of meat doesn’t
smell much,” Castillo said. “And
the cougar’s nose is not well de
veloped.”
Furthermore, cougars are mo
bile animals that don’t remain in
one area for long. If they did, their
prey - which also includes an oc
casional rabbit or porcupine -
would become wary and shy.
While a cougar attack is seri
ous, hikers need to realize that al
though the cougar population and
the number of encounters with
them are increasing, the real haz
ards have to be weighed against
each other, Castillo said.
Statistically, the chance of be
ing killed in a car accident head
ing out to a hiking trail in Oregon
or the odds of having a severe re
action to a bee sting are much
greater than the probability of be
ing attacked by a cougar while
traveling in the back country,
Castillo said.
“An attack would be extremely
rare,” said Ron Mecklenburg,
who has worked with the Lowell
Ranger Station for more than 15
years, during which time he has
seen four cougars.
In case of a cougar
• Carry a walking stick that would
double asa “weapon” to shake the
cougar.
• Think about what you would do
ahead of time.
•Talk to the cougar and maintain
eye contact, which is intimidating
to cougars.
• Back off slowly, and make you r
silhouette look bigger by opening
up your jacket or shirt and spread
ing it out.
•Ifyouhikewithachild, pick the
child up. Not only does it make
you two seem bigger, but it also
helps calm the child and may keep
the child from screamingand run
ning off. There is evidence that
panicking encourages a cougar to
pursue the prey and attack.
Mecklenburg added that
cougars are extremely timid and
shy, and would most likely be
more afraid of the hiker than the
hiker of the cougar.
They would rather try to take
off, he said. And with their cat
pride attitude, they will swing
their tail in a curl and show you
that you’re not worth their time or
energy.
The Associated Press contributed to this
article.
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