Haystack Rock safe again

Cannon Beach, Ore. (AP) A cougar that climbed onto a towering rock off the coast of northwest Oregon over the weekend -- probably in search of feathered prey -- has abandoned the craggy formation, allowing for the popular Cannon Beach to reopen to visitors Monday.

Multiple agencies and organizations, from local and state police to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Parks and Recreation Department, responded to Sunday morning’s sighting of the big cat on the iconic Haystack Rock. The beach was closed to protect people and let it return to its usual habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said officials later confirmed that the animal had moved on. A game camera captured an image of it leaving the rock Sunday night, and tracks were also found heading away, federal officials said.

State biologists believe the cougar ventured to Haystack Rock at low tide Saturday night to hunt birds, a behavior they have not previously witnessed at that site.

“While the forested areas along the coast are prime habitat for cougars, it is unusual that a cougar made its way on to Haystack Rock,” Paul Atwood, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement. “Their primary food source is deer, but they will also consume elk, other mammals and birds.”

However, cougars have been documented traveling to other similar small offshore islands in Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson Megan Nagel said via email.

Haystack Rock, protected as part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is abundant with seabirds and sea life in the summer.

From March through September, tufted puffins, common murres, pigeon guillemot and black oystercatcher raise their young on the formation.

Part of the rock is closed year-round to all public use to protect nesting and roosting birds.