PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — The state Fish and Wildlife Department says agents have been busy this year responding to complaints about cougars and bears on the Olympic Peninsula.
Agents shot three cougars after goats were killed south of Port Ludlow. A Port Angeles man also killed a cougar that preyed on his goats.
Sgt. Phillip Henry told The Peninsula Daily News there have been about 40 cougar reports in the past year in Clallam and Jefferson counties — more than three times the usual number. The department also had about 60 bear reports — more than double the usual number for the region.
Henry says the increase may be due to the cool summer, fewer hunters or a growing number of people living on the edge of bear and cougar country.
