Document text
49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, April 27, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 11, 2005 Prowling male cougar shot dead near Gold Hill By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune A large cougar that apparently killed two sheep in a rural Gold Hill back yard this week was shot and killed early Thursday near the house’s driveway. Resident Mike Galleher said he called damage-control agents for help early Thursday after losing sheep each of the past two nights to a cougar at his house in the 9900 block of Old Stage Road near Exit 40 of Interstate 5. Galleher said he shot at the cougar early Wednesday night. But the animal returned and killed a second sheep in Galleher’s back yard while the armed homeowner was looking for the cougar elsewhere in a nearby field. "It killed the sheep 25 feet from my house while I was 100 yards away," Galleher said Thursday. "I could throw a rock left-handed from my bedroom window and hit it." Galleher called Terry Clearwater, a houndsman and authorized damage-control agent. Advertisement Clearwater and Jay Dailey, a mutual friend of Galleher and Clearwater, went to Galleher’s house Thursday in an attempt to track the cougar. A leashed dog instantly picked up the cougar’s scent and within three minutes the men confronted the cougar lying at the base of a tree 50 yards from Galleher’s house, Clearwater said. "That dude was lying in people’s yards between two houses," Clearwater said. "That lion didn’t even run. He was shot 15 feet from the driveway." The cougar measured 7 feet 10 inches long, including the tail, and it weighed 113 pounds, said Rosemary Stussy, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who checked the cougar Thursday. "That thing was as big as me," said Galleher, who said he weighs 150 pounds. "If I had known he was that big, I never would have gone out there after him." The healthy male cougar likely was 5 years old, Stussy said. After the required check-in with the ODFW, the carcass was returned to Galleher as allowed in damage-related cougar kills, Stussy said. The cougar was the third to be killed because of damage complaints in Jackson County so far this year, Stussy said. Two others were shot by sport hunters with cougar tags, she said. Galleher said he found the remains of a third sheep in the woods behind his house. He said he lost a sheep three weeks ago and thought it had run off, but he now attributes its death to the cougar. Galleher has two sheep left. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Slippers Student Loans Tatoo tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoos Advertisement s