Possible cougar sighting by Athletic Club of Bend

A security guard at the Athletic Club of Bend reported a possible cougar sighting on Saturday, and on Monday, more evidence emerged, in the form of a deer carcass.

The security guard spotted the cougar toward the back of the property at the athletic club behind one of their basketball gyms, according to the club’s manager.

On Monday, the security guard then found a dead deer carcass that had been picked clean.

Jacob Lecesne with the Athletic Club of Bend said club employees are now keeping an eye out for it, and want everyone to be aware of the large cat.

“We’re less worried about it in the daytime, more so in the night is what we’re concerned about,” Lecense said. “And then we just wanted everybody in the community to know as well. I mean, our members are one thing, but we want everybody to be safe.”

Athletic club officials called the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to report what they saw.

ODFW came out Monday to remove the deer carcass, and they said based on the size of the deer, it was likely a cougar, though there have been no other sightings reported in that area recently.

ODFW biologist Derek Broman said cougars are animals that are actively hunting their prey year-round.

He said their main source of food for cougars is deer, which is why they can be seen in urban areas.

Broman said across the state, ODFW has not seen an overall increase in cougar sightings.

But he added that it’s important to report cougars to ODFW, if you do see one.

“We do record this information. We are less concerned about sightings, but more about these damage reports or concerns for human safety,” Broman said. “And so we put that into a database, so if we start to see that there’s a bit of concerning trends. it allows us to take action faster and be a little bit more proactive.”

Broman added that if you do encounter a cougar and they are not leaving you alone, you should make yourself big and shout and even throw rocks.

He said you should not run from the animal, because that could trigger its natural instinct to chase. In most cases, though, Broman said cougars will run away from humans.

More information: https://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/cougars.asp.