THE DALLES, Ore. – Oregon wildlife officials subdued and euthanized a male cougar after the young cat found his way into a motel complex in downtown The Dalles on Tuesday morning.
Police were called to a report of a wild animal within the Oregon Motor Motel complex around 9:30 a.m. They found a 2-year-old cougar in a room under construction.
An Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff member arrived and shot the cougar with a drug-filled dart though a vent in the wall.
Wildlife officials took the cougar to a safe location and euthanized the animal because he was deemed a public safety risk.
“A cougar coming this far into downtown, into the business district and deep into a hotel complex, and not showing fear of people or wariness of urban environments? That’s just extremely odd,” said Jeremy Thompson, ODFW district wildlife biologist. “This may have been a cougar that was unable to establish its own home range in its natural habitat.”
ODFW said Tuesday’s incident was the sixth time a cougar has been euthanized in 2018 due to public safety concerns. Another cougar was euthanized over the weekend in Silverton, Ore., after multiple sightings in the area.
Cougar sightings are fairly common in the outskirts of The Dalles, officials said.