The article on the cougar problems in the Mount Tenneriffe

neighborhood is one more example in a long list of cougar “problems” in the

Snoqualmie Valley. I have seen several cougars in the last 10 or 20 years and there

have been many sightings in the Lake Marie area where we live. While the

increased sightings of these stealthy, beautiful animals has engendered a

lot of controversy, they have always inhabited our woods and, hopefully,

always will.

In my mind the chief problem with cougars is focused squarely on

the safety of our children. Why? Because children are small and they dart

around most of the time. This fits the cougar’s primary prey profile and one of

these animals will drag off a small child sooner or later. This is not idle

speculation because it nearly happened in Colville recently and is blamed for

the disappearance of a small boy in the Colorado mountains.

Cougars are quiet, secretive animals and are seldom seen. They

have large ranges and travel great distances in search of prey. They have a

natural dislike for people, dogs and the trappings of civilization. While they

may “pass through” a populated area,

most of them prefer quieter, forested surroundings and don’t hang around

human modified environments very much. Unfortunately, a few

individuals acquire a taste for domesticated animals and the easy pickings that

go along with inhabited areas. These are the dangerous cats because they

gradually lose their fear of humans and dogs. I call these animals “bold,

aggressive” cougars.

The dynamics of the cougar population are affected by many

factors. Many of these factors are man-caused and have upset the natural

balance. Logging practices from 30 years ago have skewed the population

patterns of deer, the cougar’s primary food source. Also, the growth of new

homes in previously wooded areas has increased the human interface with

cougar habitat. The general demise of cougar hunting, especially with dogs,

has affected the population as well. Most of Western Washington’s cougar

population is no longer operating in a pristine environment where only

natural forces prevail.

In conclusion, it is not practical to have an unmanaged cougar

population in an otherwise managed environment. Cougar hunting by permit only,

with or without dogs, must be adopted by the Fish and Wildlife

Department along with careful census work. This will tend to cull the “bold,

aggressive” animals before they become too

much of a problem. By nature, more secretive, remote animals will not be a

primary target for hunters. Human senses are not too effective when

hunting cougars. Thus, dogs, with their keen sense of smell, are a necessity, not

a cruel luxury.

My 10-year-old daughter stared down a young cougar from about

20 feet last spring. She was lucky because this animal was a curious passerby

and not hungry. Cougars are not compassionate animals. Likewise we

should not be too mushy about how we manage their numbers for the safety of

our children.

William L. Petitjean, P.E.

Fall City