Cougar shot, killed in Terrebonne-area tree

A Terrebonne-area resident shot and killed a 100-pound cougar in a juniper tree Friday morning after a neighbor spotted it in her front yard while her young son played nearby, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said.

Deputies were dispatched around 9:20 a.m. regarding a cougar shooting at 7525 Northwest Way, said Sgt. Troy Gotchy.

A homeowner told deputies she had been outside with her 5-year-old son and dog, and the child was playing near a juniper tree in the front yard, Gotchy said.

The dog started barking under the tree and would not stop, Gotchy said. That prompted the homeowner to go over to the tree, where she spotted a cougar sitting on a branch about eight feet up in the tree.

The child was playing five to eight feet away from the tree at time, the sergeant added.

The woman said she grabbed her child and ran into the house, then contacted a neighbor. Gotchy said the neighbor responded to the house, then shot and killed the cougar, which was still in the tree.

An Oregon State Police game trooper and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the scene. They determined the cougar was a younger male that weighed about 100 pounds, Gotchy said.

ODFW removed the cougar from the scene. Gotchy said an investigation determined the cougar was shot due to the threat it posed to the residents, and no citations were issued.