Oregon hunter kills advancing cougar near Mt. Hood

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – An Oregon man hunting for deer near Mt. Hood killed a cougar after he says three of the big cats advanced toward him.

KGW-TV reports Bill Nylund of Rhododendron was hunting near Badger Lake earlier this month when the cougars approached.

He says the animals didn’t appear scared of him, leaving him no choice but to shoot one. He shot an adult female cougar that was about 50 feet away.

Nylund says he took the animal to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is standard procedure.

Cougars have killed two people in the Pacific Northwest this year.

A cougar killed a 55-year-old hiker near Mt. Hood last month. A mountain biker in Washington state was killed by a cougar east of Seattle in May.

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Information from: KGW-TV, http://www.kgw.com/