Police and a wildlife specialist tracked a cougar through a northwest Bend neighborhood Monday morning, after the cat was reportedly sighted near a residence on Northwest Fourth Street. They were unsuccessful in locating the animal.

The big cat is responsible for at least three animal kills over the past few weeks and has been sighted several times in the Awbrey Butte area since that time.

Matt Komar, a youth pastor at Compass Community Church, was in his second-story office in the rear of Discovery Christian Church on Newport Avenue, when he spotted the cougar at about 9 a.m. Komar said the cat was in the side yard of a residence at 1454 NW Fourth St.

”It was about this high, with a really long tail,” Komar said, holding his hand about 3 feet above the ground.

Two officers from the Bend Police Department and Wildlife Specialist Jack Spencer of the federal Animal Plant Health Inspection Service were dispatched to the residence. They tracked the cougar through the neighborhood with Spencer’s hounds but found only hair on a fence where the cat may have slipped through.

”We never saw any tracks and we never found any scent,” said Community Service Officer Canyon Davis, who handled Badger, one of the tracking dogs.

Officer Don Jordan, who followed Spencer and carried a rifle during the Monday morning hunt, advised residents to keep their pets inside.

State wildlife officials plan to kill the cougar if – and when – they find it. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife does not relocate cougars that pose a threat to people or pets and its only option is to eliminate them. Relocation can spread disease or shift the danger from one area to another.

Dave Williams, state director of Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, said that the threat posed by the cougar is an important reason to keep pets inside but advised pet owners that the cat’s presence should not be the only motivating factor.

”The more people can do to take responsible care of their pets, the less likely that pet would get hurt or taken by coyotes or by cougars,” Williams said. ”As far as (pet) cats running free, not only are they in jeopardy of having a shorter life span, but they also contribute to the demise of our native songbirds and small mammals because of their innate hunting instincts.”

Williams also suggested that parents of small children be mindful of the dangers posed by the cougar as well as other wildlife in the area.

”They should be making decisions on how far folks are going to allow their small children to stray out of the sight of adult supervision,” Williams said. ”I would encourage them to remember that cougars are just one of the dangers out there.”

Bend Police Chief Andy Jordan agreed, emphasizing that the safety of children in the area is a top priority.

”The experts tell us that small kids are easy targets,” Jordan said. ”So our concern is about the children – that’s the number one concern.”