What is going on with the cougars in Washington? By cougars I'm not referencing the Washington State Cougars, I'm referencing the wild animal type cougars.A few weeks ago a cougar was trapped in Discovery Park, deep in the heart of the Seattle urban zone. That same day a cougar was killed by a car in Redmond.
And now, also in Redmond, another cougar has been spotted, this time on the Microsoft campus. That is a map of Microsoft's campus, above. Microsoft's campus covers a large area and is heavily wooded with tall fir trees.
How does a cougar makes its way to Microsoft? How did it get past Microsoft security? What is driving the cats to the urbanized zone? Why aren't they living happy in the deep woods?
It's all very disturbing. Ever since a 10 foot alligator was found in my neighborhood I have been keeping a lookout for gators when I walk near the Trinity River. I also keep a lookout for our local type cougars, known as panthers or mountain lions. There have been sightings.
The cougar that was trapped in Seattle's Discovery Park was collared with a GPS location device. I've not read any followup reports regarding that cougar's current location. Maybe it somehow got free of the collar and made its way to Microsoft.
It's not something you would do instinctively but it you were to cross paths with a cougar that was looking at you and licking it's chops, you shouldn't run away from it. That is the typical prey response...get away, get away, get away! It triggers the attack response in the predator and it exposes your back and neck to the animal that thinks your man boobies contain a fair amount of calories and while turned away, present the location of the big cat's killing bite. Who knows, if in that situation, I or you or anyone really, could respond in a way that is recommended; that is to make yourself look as big and fearsome as possible. Shouting, throwing rocks, etc. I'm not sure there are cougars around here, I wouldn't be too surprised though (who knew, while walking along the trinity trails, there was a ten foot alligator submerged in the river and what was a ten foot alligator eating, anyway?). It would be neat, I think, in a safe inside the house, kind of way, if there were.
ReplyDeleteOn the NatGeo channel, recently, there was a program about an explosion of the pig population and the old proverb applies here, I think: Nature abhors a vacuum. When there is an overabundance of prey, nature will fill the vacuum with predators.