Cougar Thread!

[Clusterfrack]

Thanks guys. That’s what I though as well. Very creepy, given how well used this trail is, and how dense the housing around is. Notable were posters for a lost cat and a large lost dog. Guessing they are lion food. There were a bunch of families with little kids, all playing in the woods in a dispersed way. Hope no child goes missing...

[Lost River]

My dad sees them (tracks, not live ones) on a very regular basis where he lives. They have a bunch of cats in his AO, and his buddy chases and trees them for sport and exercise, then lets them go. Dad's friend has spent his whole life living in the mountains working as a logger, miner, etc, and the way he goes up "hills" makes me want to puke.

[Clusterfrack]

Here’s another pic.

[Lost River]

Thanks guys. That’s what I though as well. Very creepy, given how well used this trail is, and how dense the housing around is. Notable were posters for a lost cat and a large lost dog. Guessing they are lion food. There were a bunch of families with little kids, all playing in the woods in a dispersed way. Hope no child goes missing...

Fish and Game killed one in April in our little town here 4 weeks ago. Not too far from the house. As I am sure most are aware, Lions are for the most part nocturnal unless they are old and desperate or injured, but better safe than sorry. They are sneaky dang things. They have taken an elk quarter from me in the past. I did not choose to dispute it, since it was dark and my flashlight had died. Discretion being what it was I chose to grab my horns and head for the truck. HATED walking under those trees on the way out.

[Lester Polfus]

also Portland has a pretty killer tracking/primitive skills community.

As a peripheral member of said, community, I agree that is likely a cat track.

More later. Gotta hang with the munchkin right now, but if we need to air this out more I can catch up later to night.

[Cookie Monster]

I am in no way surprised that large predators and other wild things live under our noses and only briefly or rarely do we truly see how the world is.

[Yung]

First known fatal attack in Washington state in 90 years.
https://www.southernrockiesnatureblo...s-hominin.html

The attack happened around Lake Hancock, near Snoqualmie, Wash., about 30 miles east of Seattle.

Though cougars, which are also called mountain lions and pumas, are known to roam the outskirts of North Bend, Wash., a five-minute drive from Snoqualmie, Captain Myers said attacks on humans are rare. The death of Brooks, 32, was the first time a cougar had killed a human in Washington since 1924, he said.

[Doc_Glock]

First known fatal attack in Washington state in 90 years.
https://www.southernrockiesnatureblo...s-hominin.html

The news story that blog post talks about pre-dates this thread by a bit. I do remember that attack though in 2018.

[Borderland]

Not sure if anyone posted this but a child was attacked by a cougar last summer in Leavenworth WA.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/...231095443.html

[Clusterfrack]

Not sure if anyone posted this but a child was attacked by a cougar last summer in Leavenworth WA.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/...231095443.html

I remember reading about that. It's remarkable how cougars don't seem very committed to killing kids--or humans in general--compared to how aggressively they dispatch other large prey. Surely an adult cougar wouldn't have a problem killing a child in seconds if it wanted to. Is it because we typically don't fight back? Anyway, my conclusion: have a tool handy in case you or a family member ends up behind the curve of a cougar attack.