blake
Life Member
NEWS:
Cougar Refuses to Run, Killed by Officers
5/19/2009
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers had to shoot and kill a cougar that wandered into the outskirts of Bridgeport, Wash. on Tuesday.
The officers received the report about the adult male cougar lounging in a tree near a residence that afternoon. They had no intentions of killing the wild cat, but were hoping to sedate it and relocate it to a safe area. Apparently, the cougar had something else in mind when officers approached.
The cougar was perched about 20 feet away from the officers in a poplar tree ready to strike in attack position, officers stated.
"I felt absolutely horrible about the outcome, because it wasn’t what we wanted to do," Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Jim Brown said.
Officers tried to scare the cat away with bird shot, but the cougar ran to a nearby bush instead.
Brown found the cougar ready to pounce and immediately made the decision to shoot the animal because the cougar posed a threat to the officers and onlookers gathering around the residence.
"I know that posture from my experience and training. I had to make a decision right then, and that was the decision I made," he said. "I don’t know why it did what it did. We had brought the transport trailer and had everything there to relocate it, but we just couldn’t practically do that."
Cougar Refuses to Run, Killed by Officers
5/19/2009
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers had to shoot and kill a cougar that wandered into the outskirts of Bridgeport, Wash. on Tuesday.
The officers received the report about the adult male cougar lounging in a tree near a residence that afternoon. They had no intentions of killing the wild cat, but were hoping to sedate it and relocate it to a safe area. Apparently, the cougar had something else in mind when officers approached.
The cougar was perched about 20 feet away from the officers in a poplar tree ready to strike in attack position, officers stated.
"I felt absolutely horrible about the outcome, because it wasn’t what we wanted to do," Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Jim Brown said.
Officers tried to scare the cat away with bird shot, but the cougar ran to a nearby bush instead.
Brown found the cougar ready to pounce and immediately made the decision to shoot the animal because the cougar posed a threat to the officers and onlookers gathering around the residence.
"I know that posture from my experience and training. I had to make a decision right then, and that was the decision I made," he said. "I don’t know why it did what it did. We had brought the transport trailer and had everything there to relocate it, but we just couldn’t practically do that."