Pt Townsend, WA lions attracted by coon feeding

[Emily]

there are several incidents in this story, unrelated except by geographical proximity. They include a cougar taken for depradation; semi-tme raccoons disappearing because of the presence of a young lion, and a bear trapped and relocated.
Not sure what kind of hound can't trail in wet weather, but I know mine can.

from the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader:
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?Sectio ... M=54230.63


4/16/2008 9:51:00 AM Email this article • Print this article

This black bear was trapped on the Toandos Peninsula after ransacking a camper trailer. It was released within the Olympic National Forest. - Photo courtesy of WDFW


This cougar, estimated to weigh 120 pounds, was hunted by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers after it had killed a domestic sheep. It’s the first cougar dispatched here since 2006. - Photo courtesy of WDFW
Cougar killed, bear trapped

By Patrick Sullivan

Routine wildlife sightings in East Jefferson County took a dramatic turn last week.
A 120-pound cougar was hunted and dispatched after it attacked and killed a domestic sheep about seven miles from Quilcene. It's the first cougar dispatched here since 2006.
A 280-pound black bear was trapped - and released in the Olympic National Forest - after it ransacked a camper trailer near the Coyle community.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Phil Henry of Port Townsend said no humans were directly endangered during these incidents.
There was a flurry of cougar reports made last week, which Henry said appear to be "random acts of opportunity." Other than the incident with the sheep, Henry said the other reports, especially in the Port Ludlow area, seem to involve cougars hunting raccoons that are being fed by well-meaning homeowners.
"It is likely that the residents who insist on feeding the neighborhood raccoons have some ownership in the continued presence of cougars in the community," Henry said.
Cougars are native to this area, and dozens of sightings are made each year with no harm to domestic livestock or people, Henry noted. "It is apparent the cougars are abundant and live around us all the time without incident."
Here is a recap of last week's reported wildlife encounters:

Ludlow raccoons
March 31: The latest in a series of cougar sightings in Port Ludlow prompted the WDFW into an elevated response. On April 1, Fish and Wildlife officers Brett Anderson (Port Angeles), Matt Jewett (Shelton) and Bruce Richards (Enumclaw) assembled and prepared a cougar live-trap in a wooded area adjacent to the residence of the most recent sighting.
As an added measure, Richards brought Mishka, the agency's Karelian bear dog, in an attempt to locate any cougars in the maze of community greenbelts. No scent was detected.
The continued presence of cougars in the area is usually attributed to available prey.
"There is not an abundance of deer in the area; however, Port Ludlow has a large population of raccoons, which is primarily caused by individuals purposefully feeding them," Henry said.
As the cougar trap was being assembled, neighbors came over and commented that they were on their fifth generation of raccoons, Henry reported. "They wondered if the cougars were eating them," he recalled.
A week of inactivity led to the trap's removal April 7, and it was transferred to Shelton in response to another cougar complaint.
April 7: A Coyle resident reported that a bear had broken into his travel trailer and ransacked it. On April 9, a bear live-trap was set.

Sheep killed
April 8: Early in the morning, a cougar attacked and killed a 120-pound sheep at a farm about seven miles north of Quilcene. The cat dragged the sheep about 100 yards and then squeezed it under a fence. The other sheep in the pasture were unhurt.
WDFW officers and a houndsman gathered at the farm about 3 p.m. The houndsman set his dogs out at the kill site and they quickly struck a "hot trail," Henry said. A large cougar weighing at least 120 pounds was treed about 100 yards away and was quickly dispatched.
"Relocation of the cat was not considered an option because it had killed a domestic animal," Henry said. "Based upon prior experience, the probability of a cougar killing more livestock is very high. Cougars are extremely transient animals, and there is virtually nowhere in this state that would be considered a safe location to release them. It would be extremely irresponsible to release a livestock-killing animal in someone else's region."

Mats Mats cougar
April 9: Bob Hickish lives along the northwestern shore of Mats Mats Bay. He has lived in the area for 29 years and has never had a close encounter with a cougar. The evening of April 9, a cougar appeared on the Hickish porch - investigating the raccoon feeder.
"We have entertained raccoons for all the years and know them by name," Hickish told The Leader April 10. "I have not seen any of the local raccoons for a couple of weeks. It's my impression this [cougar] has been in the area for at least that amount of time."
Hickish doesn't want to make one sighting a big issue other than to let neighbors know a cougar this size has been around. After viewing the photo, Sgt. Henry said it appeared to be a year-old cat weighing 50 to 60 pounds, "a small cat by cougar standards," Henry noted.

Bear at Coyle
April 11: The steel culvert-style bear trap set on the Toandos Peninsula near the Coyle community - after a bear had broken into a camper trailer - netted a bear. WDFW officer Win Miller and Henry released it April 12 into the Olympic National Forest.
Duane Worthington uses a small camping trailer for cooking. The night of April 5, a bear broke windows trying to enter the trailer. On a second attempt, the bear got inside.
"It got in my trailer and tore up the refrigerator, tore the door off and the insulation out of it. It was a large bear and pretty determined," Worthington said. "But it didn't get a food reward."
When the trap was set, Worthington watched the bear circle the trap, and on the second day, the bear entered the trap and was captured.
Worthington has seen bears on the Coyle before but never had such a close encounter.
Black bear sightings are not as common as cougar sightings. Sgt. Henry said a bear was last trapped near Crocker Lake and relocated into the Olympic National Forest in October 2006. "The reporting party had been piling food on the porch to feed the raccoons but got more than he bargained for," Henry recalled.

Cougar dispatches
September 2006 was the last time that a cougar had to be hunted and dispatched for killing livestock in Jefferson County, Sgt. Henry reported. A 140-pound cougar killed a large goat at a farm north of Lake Leland, and the WDFW used a houndsman and found the cat a few yards from the kill site. And about 2004, a cougar was dispatched in Quilcene after it had killed a goat, Henry noted.

In December 2007, a cougar broke into a rabbit hutch west of Lake Leland and ate the family pet. A houndsman was summoned, but the wet weather prevented a scent trail from being located.