Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Mountain lion? Probably not in Wilsonville

Report of mountain lion in Wilsonville last week doesn't check out

• By: Amanda Newman  
• Published: 9/21/2009 10:52:57 AM

Big game in town?
A Wilsonville resident reported seeing a mountain lion in his yard last week.

A Wilsonville resident reported seeing a mountain lion in his front yard last week. But according to county trapper Mark Lytle, that’s just not likely.
 
“People have sightings all the time, but the majority of them do not check out,” Lytle said. “As far as animals that do check out, we have one about every two years or so that turns out to be legitimate, the rest of them turn out to be a neighbor’s dog … or a housecat or something.”
 
Glen Meeker called police Sept. 14, just before midnight, “certain” a mountain lion had just been in his front yard, on S.W. Tauchman Street. The animal was heading through Tauchman Park and into the woods, towards the river, he said. Minutes later, the animal was apparently walking through the park.
 
But when officers searched, they were unable to find it.
 
Lytle says a wildcat in Wilsonville is highly unlikely. In Clackamas County, the animals are generally found in a half-circle around Molalla, Estacada and Colton.
 
“(Interstate) 5 and some of the waterways just create enough of a barrier that they don’t have migration that goes, say, to Wilsonville,” Lytle said. “They could have migration from the coast to Wilsonville, but that’s just really unlikely. They’re not a real smart animal, they’re not like a thinking animal, they’re basically a cat and so they usually get themselves in trouble before they get to a population center ... there definitely (have) been urban cats over time, but it’s really on the rare end.”
 
To report sightings of or issues with cougars, coyotes, bears, mountain lions or beavers in Clackamas County, call Lytle at 503-790-1601.

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