BEND, Ore. (AP) – Wildlife officials have caught and killed a cougar in the central Oregon town of La Pine for the fifth time in one week.
The Bend Bulletin reports that the state Department of Fish and Wildlife killed the cougar on Thursday following reports that it was seen near a corner store earlier this week.
The department has recently been alerted to several cougar sightings, tracks left by the animal and cougars attacking domestic animals.
Cougars have been to blame for the deaths of two pets and 12 chickens in the community east of the Cascade Range.
The recent string of cougar shootings began Saturday, when a Deschutes County deputy killed a cougar after it attacked a dog. Wildlife officials then killed three cougars on Monday.