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Cougar tracks sighted in snow near Tollgate
By Jim Cornelius

This is cougar country...

Tollgate resident Glen Lasken got a glimpse of the wild side of life in Sisters while cross country skiing with his brother in the woods just west of the subdivision.

The skiers were about a mile west of Tollgate on Sunday, January 27, when Lasken came upon a deer trail. Soon, cougar tracks intersected the deer tracks.

"We kind of followed the cougar, following the deer," Lasken said.

Then the skiers found what was clearly the site of a cougar kill. They decided to stop following.

"I wasn't about to follow the cougar with his kill," Lasken said. "I thought he might take that personally."

The skiers turned around and skied back toward the subdivision. As they backtracked, they noticed something a little bit hair-raising. The cougar's tracks were superimposed on their outgoing ski tracks.

Lasken surmised that the cougar had checked the menu and decided to pass up skier for deer -- the cougar's dietary mainstay.

"We skied by, he followed us -- stalking us I guess --then went around and picked off a deer," Lasken said.

Wildlife biologist Stephen George of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said that such cougar behavior is not uncommon. However, he noted, the cougar may have actually been returning to an earlier kill when he followed the skiers.

"We do have reports of cougars following people for quite some distance," George said. "It's usually more curiosity than any stalking situation."

The Lasken incident was one of several cougar encounters last week. A woman reported seeing a cougar in her neighbor's yard on Lucky Lady in Tollgate on January 28. She also saw a cat crossing Highway 20 near the Tollgate entrance the next morning.

George said that heavy snows at high elevations have forced deer into the lower reaches of their winter range. Cougar follow the deer. And, since Tollgate has many resident deer due to feeding by residents, it becomes an attractive place for the cats to hang out.

George said that people should not be overly alarmed, since cougar attacks are very rare.

"Oregon has not had a cougar attack," he said. "Washington has, British Columbia has. That doesn't mean to treat them lightly. They are a predator, they are a carnivore."

If a skier or hiker meets a cougar in the woods, George said, "the big thing is, don't panic."

Do not run away. According to George, turning your back and running will trigger the cat's predatory instincts, making an attack much more likely. Instead, yell, wave your arms and make yourself a big as possible.

That should convince the cat that you are not good prey. Once the cat retreats, slowly and deliberately leave the area.

Dogs can be a problem, George acknowledged, especially if you run across a cat who has tangled with a dog in the past.

"Some cats don't like dogs to the point where they'll come after (the dog)," George said.

The best way to avoid cougar problems is to be alert and stay away from kill sites. George recommends that hikers and skiers go out in pairs and avoid being in the woods in early morning or early evening -- the big cats' favorite hunting hours.

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