On Thursday morning, Oct. 17 ODFW was alerted by Oregon State Police that a young adult male cougar was on a dock at the Embarcadero Resort in Newport. ODFW staff immediately responded and assessed the scene with local law enforcement. With many people on the docks and in boats at close proximity to the cougar, decisions on how to deal with this tenuous public safety situation had to quickly be made by law enforcement and ODFW. Officials decided the best course of action was to dart the cougar, even though doing this on a dock surrounded by water was not ideal. ODFW staff were very concerned about public safety and were also concerned the cougar would not safely make it out of the highly populated area.
Although the cougar did not exhibit aggressive behavior, wildlife can be unpredictable, especially in a high-stress environment around people. Once darted, the cougar jumped into the water and was quickly pulled out by ODFW with assistance from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. ODFW staff gave the cougar compressions to expel water and did everything they could to save the cougar, but despite their efforts, it did not survive.
“This was not how ODFW wanted this situation to end,” said Brian Wolfer, ODFW Wildlife Division Deputy Administrator. “This cougar was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the intent was to move it to a more appropriate place away from people. Unfortunately, this cougar did not survive, but all options to resolve the situation had risks.”
ODFW biologists are highly trained in wildlife immobilization and the risks involved. In this scenario, quick action and public safety took priority as the location was not ideal for a normal controlled immobilization. Surrounding water can always be a risk and in general these sites are avoided for planned captures, but ODFW did not have a choice in this situation. There are many factors and variables that are considered during wildlife capture and immobilization, and each situation comes with a set of risks. Even in the best of locations and conditions, not all animals will survive the capture event.
Another issue in this unique case is that the option to let the cougar leave the area on its own wasn’t possible. With many people and activities in the area, the potential risk to people and pets was too high. It is extremely rare for ODFW to relocate cougars. This situation was very unique and the decision was made to move this cougar out of town because there was no recent cougar conflict in the area, it was not exhibiting aggressive behavior at the time and was in the wrong place. However, anytime a cougar or other large predator ends up in a populated area there is a serious concern for public safety. Public safety is ODFW’s top priority and the agency thanks the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Newport Police Department, and Oregon State Police for their assistance.
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