Emaciated cougar shot after killing dog near Durkee home

State wildlife officials shot and killed an emaciated adult cougar earlier this month after the cougar killed a dog in the yard of a home near Durkee.

The female cougar weighed 60 pounds.

“For an adult cougar that’s really, really light,” said Brian Ratliff, a biologist at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Baker City office.

The cougar had severe cataracts in both eyes, an ailment that would have hampered the animal’s ability to hunt preferred prey such as deer, Ratliff said.

Considering the cougar’s limited vision, it’s not surprising that the cat was malnourished, he said.

A cougar in that condition is more likely to attack a dog or other domestic animal that’s easier to take down than a deer, Ratliff said.

That evening Nick Myatt, the district biologist at ODFW’s Baker City office, drove to the Bloomers’ home.

Myatt tracked the cougar for about a quarter-mile but was unable to find the animal before dark.

The next morning, Jan. 8, he returned, accompanied by a man who owns hounds trained to track cougars.

The hounds honed in on fresh cougar tracks about 70 yards from the Bloomer home, Ratliff said.

The hounds treed the cougar about 300 yards from the home.

ODFW estimates more than 5,000 cougars live in Oregon.

During 2009, hunters killed 110 cougars in the Blue Mountains zone, which includes Baker County.