Cameras in Oregon find no cougar activity

Officials continued monitoring portions of the Mount Hood National Forest over the weekend as they awaited test results on a cougar killed Friday they believe might be responsible for the death of a hiker.

So far, they’ve found no trace of other cougars on the trails.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has deployed about two dozen cameras in the area to look for any evidence of cougar activity.

“We haven’t confirmed that this animal is the offending animal,” said Rick Swart, an agency spokesman. “And so we need to continue to monitor the home range to see if anybody else shows up.”

Some 6,600 cougars are estimated to roam Oregon. The death of Diana Bober, 55, is the first believed to be linked to a cougar.

“For us this is unprecedented,” Fish and Wildlife’s Michelle Dennehy said of the attack on a human.

Dennehy said officials hope to have confirmation this week that it was a cougar, and not a different type of animal, that attacked Bober. Likewise, officials hope lab testing will confirm it was the cougar they shot Friday.