Recent mountain lion attacks on livestock have left some Jackson County residents concerned.
Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife received two reports of a mountain lion in Sam’s Valley near 234 and Duggan last week.
Two goats and a sheep were attacked last Wednesday and Friday.
Central Point resident Joe Sesock lives in the area.
He says he’s worried about his animals being harmed.
Joe Sesock has about fifty chickens and three miniature donkeys.
In the past he’s only had a problem with skunks and raccoons harming his animals.
However, with word of some mountain lions in the area, he’s starting to get concerned.
“If they caught them off, they could kill them because they’re predators,” Sesock said.
He thinks his donkeys could have a chance of scaring the cougars away, but he’s more worried about his chickens if a mountain lion were somehow able to jump over the fence.
In 2015, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife received 61 calls involving mountain lions in Jackson County.
“It’s really not that unusual to have calls especially around rural areas where there are livestock involving cougars because here in the valley we do have a healthy cougar population,” Assistant Wildlife Biologist Sam Dodenhoff said.
Sesock says he knows cougars spend time around Table Rock, but hopes there are no more attacks near his house.
“Well I think I’ll be a little more vigilant than I have been,” Sesock said.
While they don’t know whether it was one or two different mountain lions from the attacks last week, one has been captured and euthanized.
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