There are record numbers of cougars in Oregon, but the state
has received fewer complaints since the late 1990s. Three
years ago, the state began to increase hunting of cougars to
reduce conflicts, real or perceived.
Posted on 05/16/2009 12:00:57 PM PDT by jazusamo
When a Corvallis teen came upon a cougar mauling a house cat on Northwest Sundance Circle last month, he probably didn't think, "Well, here's an Oregon success story."
Once hunted nearly to extinction in Oregon, the big cats, which inspire awe in some and fear in others, are thriving today.
And that presents its own problems. As their numbers increase, so do the chances for encounters such as the one at Sundance Circle.
The state has responded by increasing the killing of cougars to reduce the threat, whether real or perceived, to livestock, game herds, people and their pets. Next month the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will report to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission on how this 3-year-old experiment is going.
Advocates for the cats, however, say that's not only cruel but counterproductive. And they say the state's method for counting cougars overestimates their number.
State officials defend the strategy by arguing that once rare run-ins with mountain lions don't happen only in rural areas anymore. Thirty years ago, cougars ranged in about a quarter of the state. Now they are everywhere except Oregon's most urbanized areas.
"I think our challenge in the future is cougars moving into even more high-density areas, and how we handle that," said Brian Wolfer, district biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Springfield.
A few decades ago, what was left of the state's cougars mostly stuck to mountainous areas, but they've expanded into the foothills and beyond in the past 15 years, Wolfer said. At the same time, humans' range is expanding. The state's population is nearly twice what it was in 1970. More homes are built where cougars -- and the deer they rely upon as food -- live. We're becoming closer neighbors to cougars.
In Corvallis, residential areas have developed in the oak and prairie woodlands near where the cougar, a juvenile, was spotted eight times during two weeks last month, said Nancy Taylor, district wildlife biologist. The house cat, Lucy, survived, and the cougar hasn't been seen in weeks.
"The number of calls within city parks and county parks has gone up quite a bit," Taylor said. "Recreationalists are noticing them more, foresters are noticing them more, logging trucks are noticing them here."
With sightings of cougars in Ashland, where state police shot a treed cat, and Astoria, you might get the impression that cougar conflicts are at a crescendo.
However, statistics show that cougar complaints have steadily decreased after peaking in 1999. That's despite population projections that put the number of cougars statewide at nearly 6,000, compared with a low of about 200 half a century ago. And there has never been a documented attack on a person by a cougar in Oregon, though that is not the case in California.
Cougar advocates are wary of the plan passed by the state three years ago that makes reducing conflicts a priority. The state plans to increase hunting of the animals, both by state agents and the public, as long as the number of cougars doesn't drop to less than 3,000.
State voters banned the hunting of cougars with dogs in 1994, which made it much more difficult to track and kill the cats. In other ways, the state has made it easier to hunt the wild cats: by extending the open season, increasing the limits and dropping the price of a cougar tag.
Last year the state sold more than 43,000 cougar tags, about four times the number a decade ago and 83 times the number sold in 1992, which could be attributed largely to the popularity of the $130 Sports Pac license that bundles a cougar tag with deer, elk, bear and other hunting permits.
Since the state started doing its own cougar thinning in 2006, state-sponsored hunters have killed about 100 cats in what are called "administrative removals" in three target areas where it hopes to reduce losses to livestock, elk and deer, and reduce conflicts with humans.
The end result?
"We're killing more cougars now than in any other time in history," said Brooks Fahy of Predator Defense, a Eugene nonprofit. "These animals are absolutely being hammered."
They recovered rapidly. And the state argues that today the population is healthy enough to take the current losses and probably a great deal more.
The data are still being compiled, but the Fish and Wildlife Department credits cougar hunting with increasing the calf-to-cow ratio among elk near Heppner in eastern Oregon.
Rick Hopkins, a California biologist and board member of the nonprofit Cougar Fund, said the only factor that can really influence cougar populations is the amount of available prey, namely deer and elk. He says the agency should acknowledge its management plan is as much about societal values as it is the best science.
It's clear the predators inspire awe among Oregonians, depending on your perspective. The Corvallis cat has its own page on Facebook -- "Save the Corvallis Cougar."
The presumption is that there is a conflict," Hopkins said. "And it really gets down to, what level of conflict am I willing to accept?"
There are record numbers of cougars in Oregon, but the state
has received fewer complaints since the late 1990s. Three
years ago, the state began to increase hunting of cougars to
reduce conflicts, real or perceived.
Just another case of fast food gone bad!
Oregon is managing its cougar population because of the conflicts with humans in the past, California would do well to follow Oregons example.
Hunters have saved multiple species from extinction via hunting limits, seasons, etc.
Hunters do more for our environment than all conservation groups combined.
Can hunters use their dogs ?
Exactly!
Hunters and fishermen support the proliferation of wildlife not only through the fees they pay for licenses and tags but through the organizations they belong to that raise funds for wildlife habitat.
Animal rights activists and anti-hunting whackjobs raise money for administration fees and lawsuits and pay nothing for wildlife habitat.
Not in OR any longer, hounds were outlawed in 1994 for hunting cougars and bears.
And how is that different than the wolf cull in Alaska that Sarah Palin took so much selective admonishment from Libturds? Where's the outrage for Governor Kulongoski?
Don't forget the Pitman Robertson Act that hunters voluntarily asked for which levies a 1% tax on all hunting and fishing gear, clothing, equipment, etc and is to be only used for securing, expanding and access to hunting land.
You’re right, it’s no different at all. It’s wildlife management that’s being carried out properly but libtards only see a chance to further their denigration of Sarah Palin through their ignorance.
Good point and I should know better than to forget it. :)
Harvesting a cougar without hounds usually takes place when a hunter targeting other game encounters a cat. I have heard of several first hand stories where the cat was stalking the hunter. These cats were taken at very close range, and the cats were not seen until they were within pouncing range of the hunter. Elk bugling, and calling in turkey, will lure in other animals, like big cats.
From everything I have heard, cougar is good eats, like veal.
Yes, state contract hunters can and do use hounds which is really about the only way other than a chance encounter cougars can be hunted successfully.
I lived in So OR for 15 years in a very rural area populated with cougars. At that time it was legal to hunt and run cougars with hounds, I knew some who did it.
Running cougars with hounds in rural populated areas keeps the fear of man in cougars and lessens pet and livestock encounters with them. When the use of hounds was outlawed for the average hunter is when the problems began and continued to increase until OR Fish and Wildlife started this program three years ago.
I have eaten cougar ham and it tastes fine, you’ld never know it was cougar unless someone told you.
With wolves now populating Oregon, the cougars will at least have more canines going after them. I hope our hunting party draws our elk tag this year before the herds are reduced.
I hope your party gets it too, I truly hate to see wolves reestablish themselves in OR.
I hunted Eastern OR for deer and elk many years with relatives. It’s not only very good hunting but beautiful country and I fear wolves will put a dent in hunting as their numbers increase.
Nice looking cougar. :)
She sure is proud, ain’t she? :-)
I’m planning on going cougar hunting, if you know what I mean.
A wild horse would not be something to mess with. I think I'd rather take on a cougar. LOL!
Fly
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