1 dead in wildcat attack at Oregon animal sanctuary

The Associated Press ^ | November 10, 2013

[BBell]

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Authorities say an employee at an Oregon animal sanctuary has been attacked and killed by a wildcat.

Sgt. Robert Wurpes of the Clackamas County Sheriff's office says the attack was reported Saturday night at WildCat Haven in the suburban Portland community of Sherwood.

[familyop]

Thanks and agreed. I commented further and more sincerely about the situation here in comment #15. And yes, more seriously, we'll be watching the mountain lion activity. Another thing to mention. Lighting with motion detection is good to have nearby.

The big cats can be shot in self-defense, but an intended human victim would have to have cat-like hearing, night vision, lightening reflexes and gobs of point-shooting experience (not the case with most of us). Mountain lions tend to stalk, then run and jump at high speed to hit the backs of necks of prey. They're sneaky and extremely hard to see in low light. It's better to prevent attacks to begin with. A few ranchers have shot mountain lions that were attacking working dogs instead of attacking the ranchers.

[familyop]

Agreed.

[Inyo-Mono]

What originally caused predators to flee at the sight of humans, was the fact that we used to kill them on sight. But we haven't been doing this for a long while. This means they may now be considering us as potential prey.

Thank the "environmentalists".

You nailed it. When you could still hunt mountains lions in California, you rarely, if ever saw one in the wild. Now I find their tracks all over where I work on the outskirts of town and occasionally in my front yard. I have also had fleeting glimpses of lions running into the brush nearby my home three times in the last four years.

We went almost 80 years without a problem with lions until the 1990s, and what is it up to now? 15 or more people killed by them in the last decade?

[wku man]

I take it you're talking about football, not basketball.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[familyop]

There’s something more going on with predators over the past year and a half or so. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the drought here. Maybe it’s something else. Don’t know for sure. There aren’t nearly as many red tailed hawks as before, but the population of rough-legged hawks and golden eagles is unusually thick around here—ever-present.

[fini]

[If it attacks you, fight it off however you can”. Knock im' out John!]

Shoot! One of us needs relief!

[cripplecreek]

Well shoot up here amongst us. One of us has gots to have some relief.

[rey]

You’ll love this; we may not take a lion without a depredation permit unless it is in the process of taking stock. I lost the ewe on a Friday evening and called Fish and Game. They refused to send an officer and said that permits were now issued through a wild life biologist who would not be in until Monday. I contacted the fed trapper so to have someone to verify the kill. We wait until Monday morning and are denied the permit because we waited too long and might get an animal other than the perp.

Beautiful, eh? And people want to give the government more authority.

[SgtHooper]

It was an ACME wildcat!

[familyop]

Those are some ugly regulations. Which state? I’m in CO and plan to read the latest wildlife regs on predation as soon as possible.

[familyop]

Hope this brings a smile, although you already know how sheep and goats tend to behave.

Sheep Protest!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcE5aDTszrY

[CommerceComet]

I think it probably depends on the size and boldness of the bobcat. I have heard of wildcats killing large animals, though. They’re extremely fierce.

My dad used to tell my brother and I that 'the only thing harder than catching a bobcat is letting go of it once you caught it.' The mental imagery always made me laugh.

[ExpatGator]

I suspect that a litter of coyote pups birthed nearby tends to acclimate to your presence and gets more comfortable than the preceding generation. Just a theory.

[goat granny]

our ancestors were smart enough to kill the predators in their area and the government paid a bounty on them..now we have stupid government that makes you pay to get rid of pests and city idiots cry about them. We now have cougars in Michigan, always had bears in the upper, now they are in the lower also...the ones with no fear got killed and the ones that stayed away from humans reproduced and taught their offspring to stay away also....Like Peter rabbits mother told him to stay away from Mr. Magareata's garden, your father never returned from there.

[familyop]

That’s a great guess. Thanks! When the weather looks like it’s going to get wet enough, we’ll finish fencing and probably get some yaks (too cold and too much ice for cattle). That would solve the problem. Yaks require slightly better fencing and will chase predators away.

[ExpatGator]

Sic your yak on them!