The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:39 PM
Washington State Officials Capture 197 Pound "Monster" Cougar"
CBS affiliate KREM reported that the biologists captured and tagged the cat north of Chewelah on Monday as part of a predator/prey study.
Brian Kerston, a state carnivore research scientist, called the cougar a "monster." He said it is so muscular that the first tranquilizer he shot at the cat popped out as it flexed.
According to Kerston, the cougar is the largest ever caught in Washington's history as far as he knows. A wildlife biologist for the Kalispel Tribe, Bart George, reported that the cat ate mostly elk.
Kerston, who has captured 20 cougars and collared 16 since December 2016, said that tom cougars weigh between 150 and 155 pounds on average.
"You could tell he was a big cougar. A couple of the guys had got to the tree before I did. But then when I got up there, I did look at it and think, 'Wow that's a pretty big cat,'" Kertson told KREM. "A hundred to 150 pounds is normal, he was 197.2 pounds according to the digital scale. I estimate him to be about 9 years old."
According to Kerston, the animal had a scar on its nose, likely a sign that the cougar defended its territory from another male cougar and won.
