Oregon cougar watching kids killed

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Resident kills bold cougar near Wimer
The thin animal didn't back away after showing itself to two girls riding bicycles
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Mark Freeman
By Mark Freeman
Mail Tribune
June 04, 2008

A young and thin male cougar that did not back away from kids or adults outside of Wimer was shot and killed Saturday as it walked within 10 yards of the shooter, authorities said.

Two young girls riding their bicycles on a rural road spied the cougar staring at them from nearby bushes, according to the Oregon State Police. One of the girls went home to tell her parents while the other stayed behind, police said.

Jeff Granacki, the girls' father, came to the scene on an all-terrain vehicle and armed with a rifle, OSP Senior Trooper Jim Collom said. When the cougar stepped out of the bushes toward him, Granacki shot him dead from less than 30 feet away, Collom said.

"It didn't chase anybody," Collom said, "but it didn't leave."

Under Oregon wildlife statutes, people can kill cougars if they pose a human-safety threat. Generally, cougars that display no fear of humans have fit that definition in past cases.

"Obviously, based on the OSP investigation, it clearly met the requirements for human safety," said Russ Stauff, the Rogue District manager of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Biologists suspect the animal was stressed because of its relatively "skinny" appearance and the location of a few dead opossums in the area, which were possibly killed for food by the cougar, Stauff said.

In past cases, over-stressed or emaciated cougars have turned to livestock, pets and other food sources instead of their regular quarry — deer or elk — for food.

"I don't know if you'd call him emaciated or starving, but it definitely was thin," Stauff said.

As required by state law, the animal's carcass was taken to the ODFW office in Central Point, where biologists estimated its age at 7 months and measured it at 64 inches long, including the tail, Stauff said.

This was the second cougar killed for human-safety concerns in Jackson County so far this year, Stauff said. The first was a cougar shot Jan. 20 along Grouse Creek Road in the Applegate Valley, Stauff said.

A cougar was shot over human-safety concerns April 17 behind the Rilea Creek School in Gold Beach, Stauff said. No human-safety kills have been reported in Josephine County so far this year, he said.

Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com.