If you had been planning a hike alongside Nehalem Bay, maybe accompanied by one in every of your favourite podcasts, pets, or young children, now’s the time to rethink that plan.
Cougars have been reported in Nehalem Bay State Park since July 13, when the park closed its loop path. The campground stays open, however the path remains to be closed to guests resulting from ongoing sightings as of July 18. Meanwhile, simply 20 miles north on Cannon Beach, an additional cougar was spotted on Haystack Rock, the place it was doubtless looking birds. The seaside closed on the morning of July 16 and reopened July 17.
“Cougars are pretty elusive, so it’s rare to see one,” says Beth Quillian, communications coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife northern zone. “This is the first known sighting of a cougar on Haystack Rock.”
Though cougars had been almost eradicated from Oregon within the Nineteen Sixties by looking, the cougar inhabitants within the state right this moment is wholesome, with numbers round 6,000. (Licensed folks can even hunt one cougar per 12 months, as much as set regional quotas.) According to the ODFW, cougars are primarily concentrated within the southwest Cascades and northeast Oregon.
Why are they abruptly showing within the North Coast? The area makes for interesting cougar habitat resulting from its excessive populations of deer (cougars’ main prey), plus elk, small mammals, and birds. Quillian says that most of the cougars we’re seeing within the North Coast are doubtless increasing into new territories from the densely populated southwest area.
“Cougars have a pretty big range—about 100 miles or so. If it’s getting a little too crowded, some of them are going to start dispersing and looking for new habitat where they can establish their own territory,” Quillian says.
This development isn’t distinctive to the North Coast, neither is it new this summer time. There had been a number of sightings in June: a cougar on Mount Pisgah in Eugene, and two cougar sightings alongside mountain bike trails in Sandy Ridge—together with a cougar that briefly chased a biker.
In the state of Oregon, there has solely been one recognized deadly cougar assault, which occurred in 2018 near Mount Hood.
The ODFW provides a number of tips on how to stay safe around cougars. Start by eradicating issues that would appeal to cougars, like trash and meals (together with pet meals). Even fowl feeders may appeal to cougars by luring birds, one in every of their forms of prey. If tenting, retailer meals in animal-proof containers and be sure you cook dinner away from the realm you’re sleeping in. There’s security in numbers, so don’t hike alone, and keep alert by leaving the headphones at home. Off-leash pets can draw a cougar’s consideration, so preserve your canine on a leash, or at home. Keep youngsters near you, and for those who’re approached by a cougar, decide up the kid with out bending over or turning round. Don’t run away from a cougar, since that would set off a chase response; as an alternative, make loud noises, communicate firmly, and make your self look bigger. If you’re attacked, struggle again with sticks, rocks, and fists.
