By Dawn Stover
Conservation Magazine, October-December 2009 (Vol. 10, No. 4)
On a dark night last fall, 11-year-old Joe Hess was playing a backyard game of hide-and-seek with his younger brother and two friends near Grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington. Lying face-down in the grass, Joe thought he saw Magellan—a huge housecat that lived next door—out of the corner of his eye. When the cat pounced on the boy’s head, Joe leaped to his feet and yelled, “No!” But it wasn’t Magellan—Joe was staring at a cougar that looked a little bigger than a German shepherd.
Joe slowly backed away from the animal, then turned and ran inside the house. He had a few shallow scratches but was otherwise unharmed. The wildlife agents who responded to the scene told Joe’s parents that the cougar was probably a young animal, about a year old, that had recently left home to begin life on its own. Joe’s lack of serious injuries might have meant the cat was just playing with him. Or maybe it was simply an inexperienced predator, unsure of whether a boy belonged on the menu.
Cougar encounters like this one are becoming increasingly common in the United States…
May 15, 2010
This is a considerable thing. Officials need to be more strict in taking necessary steps to allow Cougars as pet animals. No one knows what type of incidents happen in future, so it is better to be in safe side to plan accordingly.