Cougar Crossing Exhibit

As you move through the trees and streams of the canyon toward the Trillium Creek Family Farm, you pass through Cougar Crossing. This exhibit gives visitors a chance to get nose to whisker with cougars. Learn how, just like their neighbors in Black Bear Ridge, cougars face increasing human encroachment, which has led to a growing number of sightings and encounters in more populated areas.

Exhibit Footprint: 3,500 sq. ft.
Holding Building: 520 sq. ft.
Viewing Structure: 240 sq. ft.
Mesh is ~22 feet high.
Poles are sent ~15 feet into ground.

Animals

Cougar crossing is home to two orphaned, female cougars, Chinook and Takini.

Chinook, the larger of the two, was found in late January 2006, underweight and scavenging for food in Sequim, Washington. Authorities at Washington State Game believe she was the cub of a cougar hit by a car in December 2005. She was held at the Northwest Raptor Center in Sequim until she was moved to the zoo in late April 2006.

Takini was thoughtfully named by Cougar Keeper Michelle Schireman. Takini, in the Native American Lakota language, means survivor. The cougar was spotted when she was a small cub sitting in a tree in Rapid City, South Dakota. She was watching a resident wax his boat on Mother's Day. Officials from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks wildlife division considered her a nuisance cat and tranquilized her. She arrived at the zoo May 18, 2006.

Cougars in Oregon

Features

The heated den is a great place to view the cougars. The exhibit yard has rock wall ledges and great vertical perches and areas where the cougars can climb and explore. Heated rocks provide a great place for the cougars to relax. The vegetation provides shelter and, sometimes, a place to hide. The large viewing structure allows visitors to clearly see the magnificent cats as they explore the exhibit's surroundings.

Art Projects

A cougar/human encroachment illustration at the Cougar Viewing Shelter provides a full color depiction of a cougar in its habitat with houses in the background. This illustration depicts the way humans continue to encroach upon cougar habitat, bringing the two species
into closer contact with each other.

Architect & GeneralContractor

Architect: Ankrom Moisan Architects
General Contractor: Woodburn Construction

Exhibit Design

Exhibit design team included members from four zoo divisions (living collections, construction & maintenance, conservation & horticulture) and outside consultants.

Sponsor

Major support for Cougar Crossing and the Cascade Canyon Trail provided by the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation.