ARCHIVED NEWS RELEASE
This document is provided for archival purposes only. Archived documents
do not reflect current WDFW regulations or policy and may contain factual
inaccuracies.
News release Sept. 24, 1999
MILL CREEK--Enforcement officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) are investigating an incident in which a 20-year-old man shot a cougar that was attacking his Pomeranian dog early Thursday morning outside his home in the Tiger Mountain area five miles south of Issaquah.
The cougar was shot after the man heard a disturbance and went outside. He saw his dog drop at his feet from a tree overhead and looked up to see a cougar perched in the tree. The man retrieved a gun from inside the house and shot the cougar, killing it instantly. The dog also died from injuries sustained from the cougar attack.
WDFW was not notified about the incident until Thursday night.
The cougar, a male about 3- to 4- years old, was wearing a radio collar placed about a year ago by WDFW authorities after the animal was trapped and released more than 60 miles away from the location where it was shot this week.
Information collected so far indicates that the man acted within the law in killing the cougar, because of safety concerns and to protect his property, said WDFW Region 4 Enforcement Capt. Bill Hebner.
Because the incident is under investigation, the identity of the man is not being released at this time.