A cougar got by a man walking his dog and tried to snatch it and run off into the woods, but a neighbor stepped in to save the day, officials said.
It happened just after 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 19, just south of Lake Cushman in Mason County, wildlife officials told McClatchy News in an email. The area is just east of the Olympic National Forest and about 45 miles southwest of Seattle.
The man was walking his small dog on a leash when his neighbor Terry Hutchinson stopped to chat, KING5 reported.
She saw the whole thing and whipped out the airhorn she says she keeps with her in case she sees a bear, the station reported.
“This cougar just shot out of the woods,” Hutchinson told the station. “It just grabbed his dog and pulled him to the ground. … It was pretty scary, actually.”
The sound scared the mountain lion, which let go of the dog and ran off into the woods, officials said.
The man reported what happened to the local fire station, which told the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police. The agency reported Hutchinson had blown a whistle, not an airhorn.
The agency searched for the cougar with the help of hound dogs and discovered tracks from an adult cougar and two younger cougars. But because of bad weather and rough terrain, they weren’t able to track the cats down, officials said.
No one has spotted the cougars since, so officials are no longer looking for them. They’re hoping the cougars will venture further into the dense woods away from where residents live.
If the cougars turn up again and “present public safety concerns,” residents can report it to the agency at 360-902-2936 or via email at WILDCOMM@dfw.wa.gov. Residents can also submit an online report or call 911, officials said.
