Massive Cougar Spotted In SE Hillsboro On Ring Camera

As a kid, I spent my formative years in NW Montana, just off the Flathead Lake, helping my folks run a fishing resort on 250 acres of wild Montana forest. It might as well have been a nature preserve.  We ran into many black bears.  Moose, Elk, and deer too.  Badgers all the time. Lynx and Bobcat. Worst of all Wolverines.  Well, there was one animal I would say was the most terrifying: the majestic but extremely dangerous Mountain Lion, aka Cougar, Puma, Catamount, Panther.

But we were careful and had older boys with us.  We learned firsthand what to do.  Based on this most recent Cougar sighting in Hillsboro, it is probably time to have the conversation.  This big Mountain Lion was caught on a Ring camera between Orenco and Brookwood, where the bridge crosses over Rock Creek.

This photo is just a screenshot of the video posted three days ago. Watch it here.  This is no joke.  This Cougar is 7 or 8 feet long from Tail to Nose- and probably looking for something to eat.  VIDEO OF COUGAR

We have messaged the person who posted to no avail, but the footage is accurate, and we have had one other party confirm it.  The Rock Creek and Beaverton Creek corridors are right where this was shot or close.

This Cougar or others have been seen in Hillsboro several times in the last few months.  Some have made the local news.  This is the biggest one I have seen, and it might be the five-year-old frame of a cougar that was reported a few years back.  They are living among us.  Traveling from the South along the Tualatin River basin, through Jackson Bottom, and from Rood Bridge Park to the North into town.  We have developed all the lands they used to occupy into homes and industry, and now they have a narrow corridor. Others come down from the headwaters of Rock Creek in Multnomah County, and the Forest Park & Tualatin Mountains wilds to our valley.   They will go after cats, dogs, chickens, whatever they can- all they do is try to survive.

Read this article for tips on best practices and precautions to take.  Watch your pets.  Be vigilant.  See the attached video to find out what to do if confronted.

https://myodfw.com/articles/living-cougars#:~:text=Cougars%20currently%20occupy%20most%20of,to%20population%20growth%20and%20development.

From the fish and wildlife article above:

If you see a cougar in the wild

While it’s unlikely a cougar will approach you while you’re hiking, foraging, hunting or otherwise recreating in the wild, you can take a few precautions to reduce the chances further:

• Hike in groups and make some noise as you go.
• Stay alert.
• Keep dogs on a leash.
• Carry bear spray or an air horn.

If a cougar does approach,

• Stay calm, and slowly back away.

• Don’t run. A cougar could mistake you for prey and give chase.

• Make eye contact.

• Make yourself bigger. Raise your arms, hold small children, don’t bend down.

• Make noise. Shout, wave your arms, throw things at the animal. But don’t scream.