Cougar spotted 200 feet up on Haystack Rock draws crowds

People from all over the U.S. head to Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock. But over the weekend, they were there to see a cougar perched 200 feet up.

We heard from people as Fish and Wildlife crews tried to get it down.

“I’m excited to head down to the rock, we usually walk down here, we’re like what is going on down there?” said one local.

It didn’t take long for news of a cougar on Haystack Rock to spread around Cannon Beach.

“It brings excitement to the town so everybody’s talking about it, it’s not every day you see a mountain lion on a beach, so it seems like fun,” said another local.

Carmen Goetschius was visiting Cannon Beach.

“When we were in town it’s all the news that you have to go out to the rock because there’s a cougar, which is unreal! I’ve been in Oregon my entire life practically, obviously no wildlife like this, so this was a must-see,” said Goetschius.

The news drew dozens of locals and visitors alike to the bottom of the rock to see if they could spot the cougar from shore, but no one had any luck.

The Cannon Beach City Manager Bruce St. Denis said it likely spent the day hiding on the west side of the rock.

“Nobody’s heard of it but if you think about it, he might go there every night because he can get in there in the dark and hunt, there’s a lot of food there. If he leaves in the dark, no one’s going to see him. It’s the only time we’ve found a mountain lion going up to the rock in the morning,” said Denis.

As of Monday morning, police said they spotted cougar tracks leaving the scene. But there’s no word on where it went.

Wildlife officials said it’s always possible it could come back!

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