Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Holley-area resident Joe Graville shot a cougar last week off Crawfordsville Drive, about a half mile from Holley School, about two weeks ago after his wife, Suzi, noticed it in the ditch along the roadway.
After checking for himself, Graville went outside and shot the cougar.
He took the body to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials who told him it was about a year old, he said.
In the area, he had found a few deer killed by cougar, he said, and “once in awhile, you see a glimpse of them.”
A friend of his saw three earlier this year, he said. He figured it was a mother and kittens and that his cougar may have been one of the kittens.
“It was pretty hungry,” Graville said, and he didn’t think it would have survived the winter anyway.
“It was close to a lot of houses,” he said. “It was hungry, and it was going to eat something.”
Livestock owners are permitted to shoot cougars in defense of their livestock, and mercy killing also is acceptable, he said. This one would have fallen under the term “mercy killing” as well.
The starving cougar was covered in porcupine quills.
Holley School reported the incident in its newsletter, including Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife recommendations when encountering a cougar, which is relatively rare.
The ODF&W recommends the following:
– Leave the animal a way to escape.
– Stay calm and stand your ground.
– Maintain direct eye contact.
– Back away slowly, but do not run.
– Raise your voice and speak firmly.
Students are supervised at all times on school grounds, according to the newsletter report.
For more information about cougars, visit http://www.dfw.state.or.us.