Document text
HAZE Temp: 48 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, November 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 10, 2002 Killing overaggressive cougars or bears is justifiable By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune WHITE CITY — Jay Dishong knew the three-dimensional deer decoy he uses for back-yard archery practice looks very similar to a real black-tailed buck. But he never imagined it would fool one of the smartest predators in the woods. Dishong’s decoy apparently looked like the real McCoy to a cougar that stalked it Sunday in Dishong’s East Antelope Road yard east of White City, sitting as close as nine feet from the foam faux buck. "That cougar was one good leap away from the decoy, and it was convinced the decoy was the real thing," said Dishong, 42. "It was just staring at it, waiting for it to get going." Several minutes later, Dishong went to scare the cougar away, but the bold animal turned his attention to Dishong and hissed menacingly, he said. Fearing the animal to be too bold for his rural neighborhood, Dishong shot and killed the cougar with a rifle — a legal move under a relatively young Oregon law that extends to humans the same protections livestock have from cougars. Cougars or bears considered aggressive toward humans can now be killed under a law passed by the Oregon Legislature last year to cover a loophole in statutes that previously protected only livestock and property from predators. Aggressiveness is defined as charging, false charging, snarling or growling at people, as well as hanging around dwellings or losing normal wariness of people. "This falls into those guidelines as being justifiable," said Merv Wolfer, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist in Central Point. "A cougar that sits in your yard and decides not to run off when you try to scare it certainly is not exhibiting a normal fear of humans." Spencer Lennard, program director for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, said the new law allows people to "push the envelope" and shoot more cougars. In Sunday’s case, Lennard said he would rather see people like Dishong fire a shot to scare the animal away. "To me, it’s a tragedy that another beautiful top carnivore is gone for a silly reason — a human with a gun," Lennard said. Dishong said he was afraid for the safety of people in his neighborhood, particularly a neighbor with three small children. The animal was a female likely 1½ to 2 years old, and its carcass weighed 62 pounds and measured 69 inches long, Wolfer said. Under new rules adopted last month by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, Dishong had to turn over the carcass to the ODFW — which he did on Monday. Wolfer said he saved the animal’s hide and head for use in educational programs, and he buried the remainder of the carcass. Dishong had seen several cougar tracks in his neighborhood recently, but had not seen a live one there until about 12:45 p.m. Sunday, he said. While glancing up from his television, Dishong spied a cougar sneaking down a deer trail toward his yard, then watched it as the animal twitched its tail while apparently stalking the deer decoy from nearby thick grass. After creeping closer and closer to the decoy, the cougar stopped less than 10 feet away for about 10 minutes. "It was just staring at it, waiting for it to run," Dishong said. Dishong slung his .30-caliber rifle over his shoulder and walked outside to shoo the cougar away, but the animal made a short lunge toward him and hissed, he said. "It made me think that this thing definitely was getting too bold," Dishong said. After shooting the cougar, Dishong reported the incident to the Oregon State Police and called the ODFW the following day. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S