Feline Visitors on the Island
By Maria Metler
When Van Olinda arrived on Vashon in 1891, he landed from the steamer Lola at Langill's on Colvos Passage and walked up to Center. Later he recorded his reaction: "I came from the great prairies of Nebraska and, as I walked up to Center in the gathering dusk of a mid-August evening,giant fir trees towering 300 feet above me on either side of the trail in an almost impenetrable wall and flanked by great banks of ferns, the beauty of the scene was overshadowed by the thought that such environment simply must harbor hoards of bears and catamounts [19th Century term for cougar]. I marveled at the folly of man, in thinking he could ever convert such material into a farm, a garden, or even a home. It was truly a stupendous task to contemplate."
By 1910, the entire landscape of the island changed as a result of the logging industry. The tracts of old growth forest not affected by logging or farm development were wiped out in a series of wildland fires associated with the mishaps of early European settlement.The "stupendous task" Van Olinda contemplated upon first arriving had occurred. And yet despite this disappearance of optimal habitat for large apex predators of the Pacific Northwest temperate forest ecosystem, such as the black bear and cougar (Puma concolor also commonly referred to as mountain lion puma and ghost cat), these animals continued to frequent Vashon and Maury Islands.
n 1915 a 135 lb. cougar was shot on Vashon by Daniel Landers. That August a large hunt was organized to wipe out the animal from the island, as was common throughout the nation during that period. Whether the local efforts were successful or not, in 1920 another cougar was seen prowling the Harbor Heights neighborhood. It was described by the Vashon Island News-Record as "bold and menacing." Again in 1924, Mr. Stephen Lander and Mr. Bruce Hall, with his fox hunting dog Don Pedro, set out to find a cougar which had earlier jumped across Mr. Lander's car. Their efforts proved futile. However, tracking a cougar is not an easy task. Cougars can jump 15 feet from sitting (30 while on the move) and are notoriously soft walkers. Often times there are simply no tracks left. Cougar tracks lack claw marks and have tear drop shaped toe pads with a single toe which marks a bit more forward than the others (canine toes make an even arch). However, the most telling aspect is left by the large main pad. The top of the pad has a divot, instead of coming to a point. The bottom has a distinct M or W shape, depending on the perspective.
Recently there have been sightings reported in 2011 and 2015. Since early August of 2016, cougar sightings are again being reported in high volume. Sightings have occurred throughout both Vashon and Maury islands. However, only sightings on Maury have been confirmed with either photos of the tracks or the animal. Some have questioned the authenticity of these sightings since the photos were slow to be produced. Others question whether a cougar can swim the channel required to arrive on Vashon from the Olympic Peninsula. Yet swimming cougars are well documented in the Canadian Gulf islands and other areas of the continent. Still others question not the existence of a cougar here, but whether there may be two this year due to the frequency and range of the sightings. Considering the daily range of a male cougar, there is most likely only one here at present.
The timing of all of the sightings, both historically and this year's, occur within the summer months of June, July and August. This is the season when juvenile males disperse from their natal ranges. According to a 1995 research article from UC Berkeley, "dispersing males occupy a series of small temporary home ranges, usually near urban-wildlife interfaces" such as our island.
We live in prime cougar habitat. Their existence on these islands have occurred long before we began recording such events. Conservation biologists consider cougars to be a keystone species; a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would drastically change. The primary threat to the cougar population of North America is habitat fragmentation and overkill. We humans depend on healthy landscapes and biodiversity for clean drinking water, clean air, fertile soil, and for spiritual renewal. Our well being is directly tied to our ability to live with the wildlife which surrounds us. The world of Van Olinda succeeded in converting the forest to farm garden and home, yet the wild remains. The future will tell if these two apex predators, man and cougar, will find a way to co-exist.