Bad cat...

[WDFW-SUX]

Cougar on Leavenworth trail baffles Forest Service officials
Encounters between at least four mountain-bike riders and a cougar on a trail north of Leavenworth this summer have left wildlife and Forest Service officials puzzling over the cat's aggressiveness and why it doesn't appear to be afraid of humans.

By Susan Gilmore

Seattle Times staff reporter


 Cougar frightening trail users near Leavenworth, Chelan County
 
Encounters between at least four mountain-bike riders and a cougar on a trail north of Leavenworth this summer have left wildlife officials puzzling over the cat's aggressiveness and why it doesn't appear to be afraid of humans.

The cougar looks about 1 to 2 years old and may have been kicked out of its den, said Craig Bartlett, a spokesman with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Young cougars stay with their mothers anywhere from 12 to 19 months, according to the state.

"They [young cougars] tend to get into the biggest trouble but don't pose as big a threat as an older cougar, which can be more cantankerous," Bartlett said.

Janet Millard, a wildlife biological technician with the U.S. Forest Service, said that when she first heard about the cougar incidents she thought the animal might be defending a kill and felt threatened by the bikers.

She also thought it might be a female with kittens, but then decided its size meant it was likely a male. Adult males average 140 pounds but can weigh as much as 180 pounds.

Forest Service officials believe the four mountain bikers were all confronted by the same cougar.

Bartlett said wildlife managers estimate there are about 2,000 cougars in Washington, although the actual number could be higher.

"Cougars do things for a lot of different reasons," he said. "It could be testing itself. It could be curiosity. It could be youthful behavior."

The encounters led to closure of the popular trail in the Freund Canyon.

The state hired a bounty hunter to track the cougar but called him off after three unsuccessful attempts to find the cat. The trail remains closed, however. The bounty hunter will return if there are more cougar sightings.

Nobody has been injured by the animal, but the mountain-bike riders who found themselves eye to eye with the cat say the experience was scary enough on its own.

Dan Jones, of Olympia, was biking on the trail earlier this summer with his fiancée, Katie Halmos, when the cougar appeared.



 They had ridden about a mile when the cougar leapt out at Halmos. Jones responded by putting his bike between Halmos and the cougar.

"After about four minutes of the scariest moment of my life, I thought I better try something else," he said.

So he walked toward the animal to see if it would back down. Instead, it moved toward him, hissing, showing its teeth and swinging its paws.

Halmos grabbed a stick of wood and hit the cat's shoulders, causing it to back away.

"That was the game changer," said Jones. "It still came at us, but we had more distance and it slithered off into the woods.

"I've hunted since I was a kid and spent hours in the woods, but I've never experienced anything like it," he said. "They're doing the right thing by getting rid of the cougar. It's way, way over the top."

Another biker, Jason Helsel, of Wenatchee, was biking on the trail with his father when the cat jumped out of the woods behind his dad.

"I stood up on my bike and started yelling, and he jumped into the bushes," Helsel said. "This is my favorite ride in the whole Wenatchee Valley, but it was a close call."

In another incident, Brian Klaas, of California, was biking on the trail two weeks ago when the cougar showed up and started chasing him. He had to scare it away twice.

Bartlett, with state Fish and Wildlife, said that cougars, like house cats, are attracted to speed "and the worst thing to do if you encounter a cougar is run."

The bicyclists on the trail near Leavenworth did exactly the right thing by standing up to the animal and trying to talk it down, he said.

If you encounter a cougar, you should face the animal, talk to it firmly while slowly backing away, according to wildlife officials. Always leave the animal an escape route. People should not take their eyes off the cougar, turn their backs to it, crouch down or try to hide.

If the cougar shows aggression, people should shout, wave their arms and throw anything available at the animal. "The idea is to convince the cougar that you are not a prey, but a potential danger."

Bartlett said if the state can catch the cougar it likely will be euthanized.

"Human safety comes first in these cases, and we don't want to take any chances," he said.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2009680137_cougar18m.html

[Kain]

The state hired a bounty hunter to track the cougar but called him off after three unsuccessful attempts to find the cat. The trail remains closed, however. The bounty hunter will return if there are more cougar sightings.

How will there be any more sightings if the trail is closed? 

[WDFW-SUX]

I think the cougar is going to self report

[ELKBURGER]

Funny how none of the officials suggested lethal force as a means self defense. "throw any thing possible", "talk it down",..... WTF?

[jstone]

That will keep the granolas out during archery season

[Maligator]

Funny how none of the officials suggested lethal force as a means self defense. "throw any thing possible", "talk it down",..... WTF?

Lets be honest though, most of the average mountain bikers and for sure your average tree hugger doesn't carry a handgun in the forrest.    That's ok...I have my concealed permit and I DO! 

[ELKBURGER]

maybe now, hikers and bikers will consider staying in town for thier recreation or plan accordingly and pack some heat.

[Ellensburg]

2,000 cougars in washington..... think higher

[Redstar]

Hired a bounty hunter for a cougar? 

Did he skip bail? Is there a wanted poster up somwhere?

[WDFW-SUX]

Its safe to be in the woods again

Aggressive cougar near Leavenworth shot and killed by property owner

A cougar that had been confronting mountain bikers on a trail near Leavenworth was shot and killed by a property owner Saturday, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

By Susan Gilmore

Seattle Times staff reporter

A cougar that had been confronting mountain bikers on a trail near Leavenworth was shot and killed by a property owner, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Spokesman Craig Bartlett said today that the cougar was shot Saturday while in the rancher's pigpen with the snout of one of the pigs in his mouth. The farmer said he was also concerned for the safety of children on the property.

The cougar had frightened at least four mountain bike riders on Freund Trail, near Leavenworth over the last several months. One biker even clubbed it with a stick to escape.

Since then, the state had closed the trail to bikers. It was reopened Tuesday. Leavenworth is on Highway 2, east of Stevens Pass and near Wenatchee.

Bartlett said the landowner acted within the law because he was protecting his livestock and family when he shot the cougar.

State and Forest Service officials didn't know why the cougar was so aggressive, but suggested it was staking out new territory or was simply curious.

The state had hired a tracker to try to find the cougar, but he was called off when, after three searches, he couldn't find the animal. The state had planned to euthanize it if it was caught.

Nobody was injured by the cougar and according to the state, the last human fatality attributed to a cougar attack in Washington was in 1924.

Bartlett said wildlife managers estimate there are about 2,000 cougars in Washington, although the actual number could be higher.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com

[Kain]

Good news.  That home owner probably saved someone from being attacked.  Glad he didnt get in trouble.

[Kain]

Here is some info I gathered on cougar populations a while back.  The math is mine and may be flawed but I used the stats from the study and info from WDFW.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,26343.15.html

Newest cougar population estimates.  

A rough estimate from
population reconstruction indicated that the minimum
number of cougars in Washington might be around
900 animals. An extrapolation across the state with
the highest cougar density reported in the literature
suggested the maximum number of cougars in
Washington might be around 4,100 animals. Since
2003, cougar population size has been assessed in three project areas in Washington. Currently,
the best available estimate of statewide abundance is from an extrapolation from those projects,
corresponding to about 1,900 to 2,100 animals (excluding kittens).

 http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/management/2009-2015/final_game_management_plan_2009-2015.pdf  pg 85

They also use a different number of kills per year.

Cougars are effective and efficient predators and average about one deer
kill (or deer equivalent) every 10 days (Ackerman et al. 1986).

pg 91

That would be 69350-76650 dead deer or elk.  That is almost 100,000 less deer or elk killed than the other study and cougar population suggest.    Good news for the deer and elk and us hunters.  I wish the numbers could be more reliable but Im sure WDFW wishes the same.

Ok I read the study but it is for you smarter types to really understand. I did pull out the basic numbers though.
 https://research.wsulibs.wsu.edu:8443/dspace/bitstream/2376/1033/1/v76%20p15%20Keister%20Jr.%20and%20Van%20Dyke.PDF

Estimated population 1900-2100 (kittens excluded)
Female/Male ratio 50/50. Could be higher males in Washington do to more females being harvested. But with only ~200 cats being harvested and an estimate of 60% of those being female the difference would only be ~20 less females than males from the year before.  
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/management/2009-2015/final_game_management_plan_2009-2015.pdf Page 85

So out of 950-1050 females 75% would breeding age.  
712.5-787.5 females with an annual pregnancy rate of 63%.  448.9-496.1 females will have an average of 2.4 kittens.
That is 1077-1191 new kittens.
Adjusted for mortality of 31% (this includes the kittens dieing due to the mother dieing) would be 743-822 new kittens in a year.