Cougar put down after roaming Ephraim streets


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EPHRAIM — There were a few tense moments Tuesday when Sanpete County residents came face to face with a mountain lion.

In the end, the cougar had to be put down.

Charlie Stevens was shoveling snow when he encountered the cat, hiding in a window well.

“(It) hit me on the legs, knocked me on the driveway," Stevens said, "and when I saw the tail, I knew it was a cougar. It flew out, took my legs out from under me. (It) didn't scare me but startled me.”

Stevens followed the cat's tracks in the fresh snow to his neighbor's backyard. Dick Olson, a longtime Ephraim resident, said he'd never heard of a cougar in town.

“We picked up the tracks and followed the tracks,” he said.

If you encounter a mountain lion:
  • Do not run. Running can provoke a prey response in the animal.
  • Look intimidating by opening a jacket, raising arms and waving them.
  • Make direct eye contact with the cougar.
  • Make a lot of noise.
Source: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Olson called his son, who has dogs trained to track mountain lions. The dogs chased the cougar up a very tall tree.

“I've been on quite a few lion hunts with my son," he said. "This was quite exciting.”

That excitement quickly spread through town.

“Within a few minutes, we had people coming from all over the town here,” Olson said.

Ephraim police and Division of Wildlife Resources officers responded and discussed their options of what to do.

“He seemed to be having a good time up there,” Olson said. “Little did he know, it would soon end.”

The DWR decided to call a local hunter with a cougar tag to shoot the animal. A tranquilizer gun was more than an hour away, DWR officials said. The cougar was about 30 feet up in the tree, and there had been reports of a cougar in town for months.

“Probably with that type of animal, the best thing to do is to put it down for protection of the city,” Stevens said.

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Sam Penrod

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