Midnight visitor comes calling in Tetherow Crossing: Home’s Ring doorbell camera catches a cougar stopping by

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Micheal Hocker heard his Ring doorbell chime just after midnight Friday night at his home in Tetherow Crossing, northwest of Redmond, so he checked the video to see what it was. What he saw was a bit surprising.

"I saw the cat walking down off my porch," he said Monday.

"Cat" as in a pretty large cougar.

(By the way, the motion sensor set it off - it's not like his visitor rang the doorbell to say 'howdy.')

Hocker said he’s lived in the area for more than 10 years. He believes there was another cougar sighting reported a few months back.

Hocker said he's sent the video to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He's also let the neighbors know about his midnight prowler, especially those with young kids or small dogs.

“There’s not a lot of fences,” he said. “People have dogs. We have a dog that’s only 30 pounds, so that’s a concern.”

It's not super-rare. ODFW on its "Living with Cougars" page says Oregon is home to more than 6,000 cougars, or as some call them, mountain lions. The big cats range throughout the state, feeding mainly on deer, and are territorial animals, with home ranges of up to 100 miles.

So, has Hocker ever seen anything like it before on his Ring doorbell video?

“A porcupine, once,” he said with a chuckle.