Last week, during a conversation about the island’s newest cougar, my son asked me: “Which is more likely, getting attacked by a shark or a cougar?” I looked it up. “Shark,” I said. He smiled. In school he’d learned that, annually, more people were hurt by vending machines than sharks.

We did more research: Globally, mosquitoes are responsible for the most human deaths per year (800,000). In the United States, dogs, cows, ants and bees cause 20 to 100 deaths annually. In contrast, we’ve had one mountain lion fatality in Washington in the last 100 years, in 1924.

But, despite these encouraging statistics, I discussed cougar safety with my children and reviewed it for myself (suggested reading: BC Ministry of Environment “Cougar Safety” and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife “Living with Wildlife”). It’s uncomfortable to think of a large cat or bear or coyotes roaming our small island. Vashon is a safe hamlet kept secure by a natural moat and gated by our ferry system. When animals swim the moat, especially animals with big teeth, it feels like a violation of our whole sense of place. Large predators (other than ourselves) don’t belong here. Or, do they?

Collecting wildlife sightings, doing research and talking with other wildlife biologists, I have begun to see our island through a cat, coyote and bear perspective. I’ve learned that Washington’s wide-ranging mammals see islands as an integral part of the continuous landscape that they travel to find food, shelter and mates.

Newspaper records and more current personal accounts record cougar visits to the island since 1915. The first coyote was recorded in 1960. Bears have visited at least twice in the last decade. During howling surveys for coyotes, packs responded from across Colvos passage indicating interaction between mainland and island groups (vashonnaturecenter.org/research).

Large carnivores occur on other bridgeless islands from Anderson Island to Canada’s Gulf Islands. Although not as ubiquitous as they are on the mainland, these predators are part of island ecosystems, keeping deer and rodents in check, allowing forest understories to regenerate and helping bird populations maintain their diversity, to name just a few benefits.

On the question of relocation, the message from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is clear. Vashon is habitat. As long as cougars, bears, etc. act wild and stay clear of conflict, the risks of relocation outweigh the benefits. It’s hard to capture a cougar safely with private lands and human inhabitants all around. Then where do you put the cougar? Who else’s backyard?

Human populations in Washington have increased by 61 percent since 1980 and are projected to increase another 30 percent by 2040. As human populations increase regionally, wide-ranging species will continue to wind up on our shores. We must learn how to conduct ourselves in a landscape that contains them.

Human behavior is the number one predictor in determining how wildlife encounters turn out. Animals speak slightly different languages, so learning the appropriate response to each is important. Learning the facts can cause a large shift in how we view these animals and how we live with them. For example, chasing coyotes away can be very effective. For cougars and bears, it is important to give them an escape route and back away rather than turning and running. Our newest cougar consistently removes himself from human presence when seen. But, he is not in a hurry to do it. That can be unnerving unless you know that acting nonchalant is a typical cougar response and not aggressive behavior.

Vashon is on a steep learning curve. I have talked to a lot of islanders, and I’ve noticed that, despite the fear these animals can engender, most of us want to learn and are constantly asking the question, “What’s best?”

Learning to live with wildlife is a community endeavor. Securing pets and livestock takes resources, which means we need to support each other. Neighbors who do not secure garbage, livestock and pets attract wildlife and make it harder for adjacent land owners. There are trade-offs for some alternatives to secure our domestic animals that we will all feel. For example, livestock guard dogs might be the most effective protection for stock, but they can be noisy at night. We have incredible resources in this community. They just need to be employed in a more organized way to help us make decisions and adapt.

Unlike other rural areas, we don’t have a central governing board to help with this process. But, we have neighbors sharing wildlife sightings; and livestock owners, VIGA, Vashon Nature Center, the Coyote Working Group and others raising awareness, educating, conducting research and offering speaker forums so we can discuss and learn. These actions will help us make level-headed and informed decisions about how to adapt.

I struggled to write this commentary because I understand the uncertainty associated with these animals and the losses some people have incurred. But, we cannot survive if we continue to pick apart the natural systems that sustain us.

Through top down effects on the food chain, large carnivores exert an enormous influence on long-term health of Washington’s forests, fields and waters, and our island forms part of the landscape they need to survive. These powerful animals are teaching us about handling fear, about the strength of our community and about our place in this beautiful, connected world.

— Bianca Perla is the founder and director of the Vashon Nature Center. She holds a doctorate degree in Ecology from the University of Washington and has worked as a conservation biologist and science educator for 15 years.