Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Washington State University lambs unaccounted for
PULLMAN — According to Washington State University (WSU) a potential cougar attack may have killed as many as five spring lambs at WSU’s barn facilities.
One lamb was found dead with four lambs still missing.
According to Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife Communications Manager Staci Lehman, the lamb that was found dead was thought to be killed over the weekend, but the other four went missing on Monday, June 10.
“We had gotten a report last week with one that was found dead and four that had gone missing. We had staff and our conflict specialist go down and speak with them,” she said.
The found lamb was necropsied at WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine hospital last week.
Lehman reports that each lamb that was killed or disappeared weighed about 60 pounds and they all were born early this spring.
The killing happened on Terre View Drive between Pullman Airport Road and Northwood Drive near the Palouse Ridge Golf Club and on the edge of campus.
“We put up some game tags to see if we could catch anything coming back. We haven’t seen anything yet. There is nothing new aside from a potential sighting at the golf course. What tends to happen is people tell their friends or post online, and they do not contact us. By then, it is too late to get a tracker out there,” added Lehman.
This was the second cougar spotting reported last week alone, the first spotting was in Palouse on Tuesday June 11.
“In eastern Washington, we get many cougar sightings, some areas more than others. Cougars come and go and can travel really quickly, so they could have killed those lambs very quickly,” said Lehman.
Lehman urges anyone who spots a cougar to report the sighting immediately to the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife.
“If there is an emergency or safety concern, call 911 immediately. After that, call the state patrol. If you can safely take a photo or video from indoors, that would be helpful,” she said. “The main thing is reporting it right away so we can get there and look for it.”
Lehman says that livestock owners should try to bring animals indoors or to a secured barn or enclosed coup at night. She also recommends to stop feeding wildlife like deer as it attracts larger predators like cougars and bears.
Washington State University police are coordinating with the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife.
“We don’t want to scare people. Cougars are pretty elusive,” she said.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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