Police fired bean bag round to drive off the animal on Almond Street, two blocks off North Main Street

By Bert Etling, Ashland.news

A cougar feeding on a dead deer was discovered in the 100 block of Almond Street on Monday morning, according to a post on the Ashland Police Department Facebook page. A department officer was responding to a call about removing the deer’s carcass. No time was given.

When he got there, he found the cougar by the carcass. Use of bean bag ammunition caused the cougar to flee. The department cautioned that the cougar might still be in the area. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife was notified.

The department asks anyone who observes a cougar and feels there is a danger to all dispatch at 541-776-7206. If there is no apparent danger, a report of the sighting can be submitted via APD’s online wildlife reporting tool at gis.ashland.or.us/cougar/.

Additional information about cougars and other wildlife can be found at dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/cougars.asp.

Email Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling at betling@ashland.news or call or text him at 541-631-1313.