Cougar attacked horse on Buckley farm
By DANIEL NASH
Bonney Lake-Sumner Courier-Herald Reporter
October 11, 2012 · Updated 5:09 PM
Another report has come in on the cougar seen in Bonney Lake Oct. 5.
Angie Camp, a resident of unincorporated Pierce County near Maris Farms, reported an attack on her six-year-old thoroughbred Sept. 25, predating the October sighting. It is not known if both sightings were of the same animal.
Camp's daughter called her in the morning to tell her she had seen a large animal escaping into the woods. Camp initially wrote it off as a trick of the eye and imagination; she changed her mind when she came home.
"Sure enough, our horse had been hurt," she said. "He had claw marks on his belly, his flank and (the flesh of) his chest had been opened up."
She called in a vet and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, who told her the injuries were consistent with what could be caused by a 2- to 3-year-old cougar.
Cougars are native to Washington and there are an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 in the state, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
An adult male will claim a home range of 50-square-miles to 150-square-miles. Females tend to group closely to their mothers' territory, while males become independent at a young age.
More information about cougars can be found here.
Contact Bonney Lake-Sumner Courier-Herald Reporter Daniel Nash at dnash@courierherald.com or 360-825-2555 ext. 5060.Comment on this story.
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