Ellen Easton
Was Ellen E. on Wet Canvas
- Messages
- 194
Cougars will sleep up in trees so even in daylight you could walk under one without knowing it's there. Believe me, the cougar would know you're there, though. The creek is right on the perimeter of the park, and just a few feet up the creek from us (when I say "us" I mean all who live here) but from me, it's quite close and huge cougar tracks show where they drink from the creek. The state appoints certain people as predator watch so that when they cause a problem, he can be called to come out and deal with the problem. Recently he had a scare. He had gone to deal with a cougar who had killed someone's sheep or goats and he went up to set the trap, but then just 5 minutes later, the cougar was already in the trap. That meant it had been there watching him!
I respect how he does it, though, because the trap he sets isn't meant to do anything but hold the cougar. It has no teeth and he showed in a video that he could put his own hand in it and not be hurt. Then when he goes back to see if the cougar has come and gotten caught in the trap, he can kill it, but this way the cougar won't be caught in a tight trap with teeth and have to suffer till someone finds them.
Cougars kill their prey, eat all they can hold amd then scrape debris over the rest and pee or defecate on it to mark it as belonging to him or her. Then they come back later to feed on it while it lasts. They're very possessive with the kill and they don't take it kindly if anyone or any other animal comes around it so that's why it shook the predator guy knowing that one cougar had been so close while he set the trap
There are wolves not far away now too. My neighbor the bear hunter (lol) said there's a pack that's already come up into our area now. Oregon is trying to repopulate the state with it's native wildlife and they're keeping track of what happens to the ones they've started packs of. When I first came here, they were only in Douglas county but were moving north. Lane County is where I am, and Corey said he's seen them further south in Lane County now, so I guess probably we'll start seeing them eventually. And now there's talk of grizzlies---at that point, I'll be relocating I think.
I respect how he does it, though, because the trap he sets isn't meant to do anything but hold the cougar. It has no teeth and he showed in a video that he could put his own hand in it and not be hurt. Then when he goes back to see if the cougar has come and gotten caught in the trap, he can kill it, but this way the cougar won't be caught in a tight trap with teeth and have to suffer till someone finds them.
Cougars kill their prey, eat all they can hold amd then scrape debris over the rest and pee or defecate on it to mark it as belonging to him or her. Then they come back later to feed on it while it lasts. They're very possessive with the kill and they don't take it kindly if anyone or any other animal comes around it so that's why it shook the predator guy knowing that one cougar had been so close while he set the trap
There are wolves not far away now too. My neighbor the bear hunter (lol) said there's a pack that's already come up into our area now. Oregon is trying to repopulate the state with it's native wildlife and they're keeping track of what happens to the ones they've started packs of. When I first came here, they were only in Douglas county but were moving north. Lane County is where I am, and Corey said he's seen them further south in Lane County now, so I guess probably we'll start seeing them eventually. And now there's talk of grizzlies---at that point, I'll be relocating I think.
