Islanders continue to lose livestock to predators, and wildlife officials are encouraging those who experience such a loss to report it if they believe the cougar might have been responsible.

Cougar sightings and potential livestock predations should be reported to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) hotline at 425-775-1311. If assistance is required outside of typical business hours, people can call 911 or the Washington State Patrol.

Over the weekend, an island woman who lives near Fisher Pond reported on Facebook the cougar killed one of her sheep the night before. Its only visible injuries were puncture wounds to the neck. The sheep was dragged over to a fence, but not eaten.

Previously, state wildlife officials made efforts to trap the cougar, but so far, the big cat has eluded them. The trap is still on the island, ready to be deployed again.

Raquel Crosier with WDFW said last week that if her agency receives new reports of depredations, officials will look into them and resume trapping efforts if they are deemed cougar related.

Last week, she said the agency had looked into some recent reports and was planning on investigating a possible cougar-inflicted injury to a horse. At press time Monday, no further information on wildlife officials’ determination was available. Additionally, another WDFW staff member noted that the sheep predation over the weekend had not been reported to them and that officials there hoped to be in touch with the animal owner.

State Sen. Sharon Nelson has recently become involved with the cougar issue and is working with WDFW about it.

“We have heard there have been injured or killed livestock and we need the public’s help in reporting these incidents so WDFW can address this problem,” she said.

If the cougar is trapped, it will either be killed or relocated, a determination that wildlife officials make on a case-by-case basis.

— Susan Riemer