ZIGZAG, Ore. — ODFW is ending cougar capture operations in Zigzag because all available evidence shows the cougar killed last Friday, Sept. 14 is the one responsible for the state’s first fatal cougar attack.
“It is highly probable that the cougar that killed Diana is the one that we killed last week,” said Derek Broman, ODFW carnivore coordinator.
The cougar killed was detected on a trail camera set right at the site where the attack occurred. Over the past week, no other cougar has been detected in the area.
Cougars are territorial. Males have larger home ranges (50-150 square miles) while a female home range is usually 20-30 square miles. Trail cameras were first set at the attack site, then expanded to about a 35-square mile area around that site, and eventually surveilled a roughly 78-square mile area.
No other cougar was ever detected on this network of 31 cameras set on trails, wildlife corridors, saddles and other areas where cougars are likely to travel, adding to the evidence that the cougar responsible was killed on Friday.
The cougar’s age also plays a role in evidence. The female cougar killed is several years old, and by that age cougars have an established a home range. The lack of any other cougars in the area suggests this cougar was in its home range when it attacked and killed Diana, and that it is unlikely another cougar is responsible.
While ODFW believed last Friday that it had likely killed the cougar that attacked Diana, it could not rule out the possibility that another cougar was responsible. “Our highest priority was to capture the cougar responsible for the attack to protect public safety,” said Broman. “We continued to monitor the area for other cougars to
