Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2005)
Pqge2 Spilyqy Tymoo, Wqrm Springs, Oregon Mnmtyb, 2005 .'.'.'.'.'.".'.'..A'.'.VI I fjf.'r' '.Y.Y I iYr'.v'j 1 'J I J V J A W V.Y 'VVNM Xv1& ,Y. v,vi. .v-ur. J Div McMtwVSplyiy Neal Morningowl snow-boards down the hill by the Community Center fields. Warm Springs saw its first snow of the season just after Christmas. Cougar: range up to 98 square miles (Continued from page 1) Indeed, there are more than enough mountain lions to con sider them a tool for managing wildlife, according to Doug Calvin, wildlife conservation of ficer for Warm Springs Fish and Wildlife. "Based on current literature and research in Oregon, as a comparison, we figure maybe in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 lions here, based on the prey base and habitat," Calvin said. "But it could range anywhere from 40 to 80 lions, but we don't know because we haven't done a whole lot of research on them." The last time tribal fish and wildlife was able to perform re search on mountain lions was in the mid-1990s. Between two female moun tain lions studied back then, Calvin said, they were shown to have a roaming range of about 98 square miles. "Females can range from maybe 50 to 150 square mile as home ranges," he said. "Males usually do about twice that, about 100 to 150 square miles. They can cover a lot of ground." Females, he said, can over lap territories and will tolerate each other, but males do not, Calvin said. "But males, the dominant males especially, they typically don't tolerate each other," he said. Younger males, he said, can actually force an older male out of his territory. That could have been why, he said, the male cou gar ended up in the vicinity of U.S. 26 at 9 p.m. "He looked like he was prob ably an 8-, maybe 9-year-old cat," Calvin said. "He had a few battle scars, but he also looked a little lighter, leaner, than I would have expected him to be, based on his size." Typically a reclusive animal, 1997 Ford Escort wagon, low miles $2,998 1995 Ford F150 pickup, long bed, 6-cyl., 5-sp $2,498 1997 Ford Aerostar Van, AWD, many options $4,998 1997 Olds Cutless Supreme, loaded, nice car.. $2,498 1994 Ford F250 Pickup, V8, automatic $3,998 1975 GMC 34 ton 4x4, 396 V8, 4-speed $2,998 ..... - v i .iki-y. , ft . n 1 mountain lions stay away from human populations and devel opments, but have apparently become bolder with the decline of their primary and favored food source, deer. The shortage has forced mountain lions to go eat porcupines, skunks, or horses. National media have reported that mountain lions have moved eastward, having been sighted as far east as Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan. Luther said the cou gars have been able to expand farther east because of record numbers of white tail deer east of the Rocky Mountains. "That makes for a lot of prey base," Luther said. The Mountain Lion Founda tion, based in Sacramento, Ca lif, claims cougars have killed 18 people in 66 attacks nation wide in the last 100 years, but half of both attacks and deaths have occurred in the last 10 Most recently, a mountain biker was killed, and another injured, by a mountain lion in Orange County, Calif, in Janu ary 2004, and police in Palo Alto, Calif, put down a cougar in a residential neighborhood last May. A hunting season for the cou gars was one of three options tribal Fish and Wildlife presented to Tribal Council. The others al lowed tribal members to take them only if the cougar is de stroying livestock or domestic animals, or poses a threat to hu man life; or allowing tribal mem bers to hunt cougars without restriction or bag limit. Both options included the proviso of bringing the downed cougar to Natural Resources for inspec tion. The most positive thing about the resolution, Smith said, is that it gives ranchers like him and his father, Buck Smith, the right to defend their herd of about 350 horses by shooting the cou gars. Jason Smith said he and his father have witnessed cougars killing colts. He believes as many Fire destroys mobile home before Christmas Warm Springs Fire and Safety responded to two mobile home fires in a subdivision on Oritz Loop in Warm Springs Dec. 22. Three fire trucks and nine personnel responded to a fire at residence of Vincent Simtustus Jr., at 2372 Oritz Loop, at 6:54 a.m., that morning. The mobile home was fully involved, Dan Martinez, Fire and Safety Chief, said, and it was declared a total loss. Martinez said that interviews with relatives indicated the fire was caused by a base heater in a hallway. One person, Julia Simtustus, was treated for smoke inhala tion. 'They're so elusive, you can walk within 10 feet of one and you 'd never know it. " Jason Smith as 100 colts may have been killed by cougars, based on the fact that when he and his father have checked on their horses, they have seen them in groups of only adult horses, when year lings and colts would be present. "Lately, they've all been big horses," he said. "There should have been more yearlings and spring colts. We think there are no colts because the damned cats are killing them because they're easy. They don't kill adults because they would have to work at it." Oddly enough, though, Smith said he doesn't know of any cattle killed bycpugars. Smith said he knows of cou gar sightings in six different places on the reservation, in cluding his family's ranch on the southeast corner of the reser vation, around Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino, on Sunnyside Road, at the Jefferson-Wasco county line, and in the Tenino Valley, as well as the one on U.S. 26. The one on the highway might not have been alone. "I talked to the guy who hit it, and he said there were two," Smith said. "One got away and he hit the other one." The mountain lion season is much longer than tribal fish and wildlife's bear hunting season, conducted during the fall at the same time deer and elk are in season, because of mountain li ons' elusive nature. "They're a lot more difficult to locate and, unless you have a good set of hounds, the odds of just stumbling into one when you're out hunting deer or elk e: A family pet, a cat, was lost in the fire. The Simtustuses are staying with relatives, Martinez said. A neutral wire in a panel box was found burning at the home of John Marcum, at 2365 Oritz Loop, at 1:33 p.m. that day. The electricity was turned off and a fire crew spent about two hours at the residence in mak ing sure no fires were hidden in the walls. Two adults and three children were moved to a Madras hotel until emergency housing could be made available for them. The Red Cross is working with both the Marcums and Simtustuses. are pretty slim," Calvin said. Smith said the winter might be the easiest time to find a cou gar, particularly if snow is on the ground, because cougars barely leave tracks on bare ground. "They're so elusive, you can walk within 10 feet of one and you'd never know it," Smith said. "Now you've got a little weather and you can take advantage." Because of their elusive na ture and the difficulty in hunt ing them, though, it appears the only way a cougar may reveal itself is when it's forced to do so. "No matter how hard you try, you're never going to come close to denting the population be cause they're so crafty," he said. f5 CflCfit CfCffllf Sdmnd & Voma acdom Ralph's TV & Furniture 525S.E.5th St., Madras OR No Foolin' - The Best Food in Town! k .v l t. (541) 553-1471 P.O. Box 535 Warm Springs, OR 9776 CB No. 89198 Locally owned and operated All work guaranteed 9 (Just North of Cenex next to Light Technics) 1527 NW Harris - Madras Industrial Park 541-475-7900 Pet Beds (reg) (heated) Halters - Pet Food -- Leads - Salt & Minerals - Vet Supplies IjniEjpEB COB -- $5.50 Dog Food $10.95 0 0 Beds HWIMWItyiyWIMMUll,lMI Ml 475-2578 6 Demolition Driveways Top Soil Water, sewer hookups Cattle guards Home sites Debris removal Rock products Mon-Fri 9-5:30 Sat 9-3 Closed Sundays (MESSES fc j ;f A - 1 1 - j j " "I