the cat was obviously a terrorist...under a haus and all

[Guest guest]

poor cat...

 

 

Hunter shoots cougar under house

 

By Joyce Campbell

 

 

A young female cougar lay dead on a tailgate in Twisp on Thursday (Jan. 17),

drawing

the attention of more than a few passersby.

 

 

" It had scary teeth and big ol€ ¦’² paws, " said Marissa Schucker of Twisp,

who along with her companions cautiously reached out to touch the motionless

cat.

 

 

This cat was number 10 of a quota of 11 female cougars allowed in this year€

¦’²s

pilot hound-hunting cougar season in Okanogan County. By Tuesday (Jan. 22) the

quota

was reached and the pursuit-or-kill season was over, but not the hunt.

 

 

Hunters and their dogs may continue to pursue cougars until March 31 in five

northeast

counties, where the pilot program is intended to reduce the number of cats and

their

encounters with people and livestock.

 

 

This season€ ¦’²s quota of 27 adult cougars in Okanogan County included 11

females,

according to WDFW officer Cal Treser.

 

 

Two Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers were on hand Thursday to

examine the hunter€ ¦’²s permit, the radio-collared cougar, scratches on the

hounds

and to tag the raw pelt.

 

 

The hunter could face a trespassing charge.

 

 

" It was under somebody€ ¦’²s house, " said the hunter, Michael Terry of

Bothell. He told wildlife agents that his four redbone hounds chased it under an

unoccupied house, and he shot it when it attacked his dogs. " Nobody was at

the house, " he said.

 

 

" This person had the belief, if the dogs are unleashed in a public area, he

could follow them, " said Dan Christensen, WDFW officer. Christensen said he

informed the hunter that only a search warrant allows someone to trespass on

private

property.

 

 

" You€ ¦’²re required to know where you are at all times, " said Christensen.

 

 

A mid-morning call to the sheriff€ ¦’²s 911 dispatch reported hound hunters

trespassing

on her private property on Poorman Creek Road. She called back to say the hunter

had left her neighbor€ ¦’²s land and left blood on the road.

 

 

The property was posted no hunting/no trespassing, according to Christensen. He

said he would search county records to locate and contact the landowner.

 

 

" As of now, no charges will be pressed, " said Christensen. The original

caller who reported the trespass declined to press charges, according to

Christensen.

 

 

The caller, who spoke to the Methow Valley News on the condition of anonymity,

said

it was the neighborly thing to do, and now it€ ¦’²s up to the neighbors and

the

game department.

 

 

Misdemeanor trespassing carries a $500 fine and potential jail time, according

to

Christensen, who said prosecutors are reluctant to press trespass charges when

homeowners

don€ ¦’²t come to court to witness the case.

 

 

It was the end of the trail for the cat, but not the end of her tale. The WDFW

had

been monitoring the cat€ ¦’²s trail since last August. The then-seven-month

old

cat had killed a goat at Ed and Vicky Welch€ ¦’²s Sunny Pine Farm on the

Twisp River.

 

 

" I€ ¦’²m sorry it met its end, " said Vicky. " It was a magnificent

animal, but if it was headed back here, we€ ¦’²re probably glad. " She said

the cat got over their orchard fence and killed the most vulnerable animal on

the

farm, one of two young goats that were quarantined because they were new to the

herd of certified organic dairy goats.

 

 

After the goat incident, the Welches bought three guard llamas, which are bigger

than the goats and help protect the herd. The dairy owners are also considering

getting a guard dog.

 

 

She said there are lots more cougars since the law was changed to prevent hound

hunting. " They€ ¦’²re here, and they get hungry. "

 

 

The dead goat was used to bait a live trap and capture the young cougar. WDFW

cougar

and bear expert Rich Beausoleil tranquilized, weighed, measured and radio

collared

the cat and released her up Benson Creek.

 

 

She was tracked by satellite coming back around McClure Mountain, over Poorman

Creek

and back up the Twisp River Valley, according to Treser. He said there were no

recent

cougar complaints from that area.

 

 

" It looks like after an early offense, the cat probably had some aversion to

trapping and collaring, " said Christensen. He said tranquilizing is a traumatic

experience for a cat. It can€ ¦’²t move, but is aware of what€ ¦’²s

going on around

it.

 

 

The pilot hunting program has been successful, according to Christensen. The

three-year

program was extended to its fourth year this year. The project seeks to monitor

the cougar population and manage hunting quotas to maintain a sustainable

population.

 

 

Hounds are one of the few effective ways to track cougar he said. The hound

hunters

have policed themselves very well, turning in unethical houndsmen, and they are

a resource to call on when a cougar threatens humans or livestock, he said.

 

 

Hunter Michael Terry has bagged his limit of two cougar. He shot a 161-pound tom

on Wolf Creek on the third day of the season.

 

 

" I ate the last one, " said Terry. He said he plans to eat this one, too.

He said the backstrap tastes like tender pork chops and the burger is like

turkey.

 

 

Terry said he likes hearing the dogs and seeing a pup that he€ ¦’²s put time

and

effort into catch a bear, cat or raccoon. " That€ ¦’²s really rewarding. "

 

 

This season€ ¦’²s pilot hunt with pursuit dogs began on Dec. 1 in Okanogan,

Chelan,

Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties. The state legislature initiated the

special

hunt after the cougar population and complaints about cougar encounters with

people

and livestock increased following the 1996 statewide ban on the use of pursuit

dogs.

 

 

" We€ ¦’²re really looking for the legislature to initiate a regular season,

" said Okanogan County Commissioner Bud Hover. " Part of their natural

migration is to move down into these areas where the deer winter.

 

 

" We€ ¦’²ve got to do the best we can to co-exist and maintain a healthy but

limited population, " said Hover.

 

 

 

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

Confucius