We have cougars that come into the city limits of Eugene and Springfield, an area that had no cougars just a few years ago. Oregon's cougar population has risen from 4,000 to about 5,000 during the past two years, although it's hard to say for sure because they're hard to keep track of. Statewide, complaints about the cats have risen from 700 in 1999 to more than 900. Though no one has been killed by the feline predators in Oregon, state lawmakers are concerned about reports from California and Canada of fatal cougar attacks. It's only a matter of time before a tragedy occurs, they argue.
Cougars are semi-protected animals under Oregon law.
They can be hunted, but a maximum of 400 can be killed each year. This session, state legislators are looking at several bills that would loosen restrictions on how people can deal with perceived cougar threats as the human population expands and the big cats migrate into urban areas. With the growing population of cougars and the growing population of people, we are seeing more of them. When people call in cougar complaints, they expect the agency to remove or kill the cat, said Castillo, the wildlife biologist. But that can be difficult because of a 1994 state law banning the use of dogs to pursue cougars, the most effective way to catch them.