Anyone ever heard of a cougar on the loose in Seattle?

[kristenm1975]

Three blocks from where I work as a nanny, there's a woman and her daughter who are raising three hens in their backyard. One side of the chicken's pen is right along the sidewalk, so we've made a habit of walking over there to check out what the chickens are doing. (Just trying to get the new generation addicted to chickens too!

)

One day, the lady who owns the hens was there and I talked to her about her chickens briefly. She said they used to have four, but one of them was EATEN BY A COUGAR right there in their residential area, just off of Leary Way. It happened about a year ago, or more, can't remember now, and she says neighbors can corroborate her story. what? Has anyone ever heard of such a thing??

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Yes, they are everywhere.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/enf/danger/reporting/index.php?keys=&county=King&year=&submit=SEARCH

I saw one in March of 2007 for the first time. It bounded in front of my car (about 100 yards in front), hit the yellow line of the highway & disappeared over a snow bank in ONE leap. It was pretty awesome. But it was on National Forest so there wasn't anything to report. We've had them in our area forever. We have an old schoolhouse from the late 1800's in our backyard...and there was a boy in the early 1900's who was eaten by a cougar on his way to the school behind our house!

 

[Jilara]

It could just as easily be a lynx. Canadian lynxes are fairly common in Washington, and a lot of people really don't know the difference. They're also smaller and that makes it easier to hide.

Around here (Bay Area, California), any cougar that makes its way into an urban area is a dead cougar very quickly. They're big enough that it makes them fairly easy to track.

 

[orbirdman]

doesnt surprise me. after living in seattle for a number of years i saw all kinds of wildlife in what i thought were strange areas for the city.
living in portland in what used to be a somewhat rural area that has been developed heavily in the last 10 years we still see deer in the neighborhood here. had a cougar sighting about 3 weeks ago that was 30 blocks east of us. it only takes us 15 minutes to get downtown.

 

[scubagirl]

Yep, cougers and bears in the city.

They are territorial animals. The more land we ocupy the less space they have.

Each couger needs its own space.

They have been chasing one here in Marysville just north of seattle for over a year.

 

[silkiechicken]

I wouldn't be too surprised. There was a big brown bear wandering around greek row near campus last year or the year before.

 

[Miltonchix]

Quote:
The Cougars have always been there. I used to hunt alot east of Marysville and north to Mt Vernon.
Its NOT just "the more land we occupy".
Cougars have no natural predators. The populations were kept in check by controlled hunting. But in the late '90's when dog hunting was banned it made hunting cougars nearly impossible. Now they (the cougars) are multiplying exponentially and will be seen more and more in ALREADY populated areas.
The middle of Everett or Seattle is not recently lost habitat. Habitat loss does play a part. Just not as much as "some" would have you believe.
The Environment/Wildlife at any cost group don't consider the consequences of actions like banning dog hunting. From my perspective they'd rather see a little kid mauled as the predator population controlled in a sane manner.
I AM an environmentalist. Like every other ethical hunter. I've spent more time in the Cascades than 99% of those who scream loudest about the "evil hunter". Common sense has been lost it seems.

 

[Chicky Joy]

I can't speak for Seattle but they are in northern Michigan, when officials say they are not. Many people have seen them, my father and brother in law included. I have also seen numerous pictures from those cameras hunters attach to trees. Seems like they could be anywhere.

 

[Mr_Jeff]

I've never been able to understand why the Michigan DNR won't publicly admit that there are cougars in this state. Considering that our state is called the wolverine state despite that animal being extinct here, you'd think they would embrace the return of an endangered species like the cougar.

I spent four years in the service out in Washington. We used to see sign of cougar everywhere when we were out hunting or fishing. Seatlle, after all, has the Cascades on one side and just across the sound is the Olympics. Both full of cougars. A buddy I had who was a reservist, but also a game warden, told me that grizzlies in the cascades were coming back like crazy, too.

 

[Chicky Joy]

Quote:
I don't get it either. People see them all the time. I heard that they released them for one reason or another but who knows what the truth is...

Fortunately I live on an island now and don't have to worry about them. We also don't have any bears, skunks, opossums, porqupines (sp?), or bobcats. We do have racoons and coyotes.