Woman frightened by cougar on roof, but it wasn't a cougar at all

BANDON, Ore. — A woman in Bandon, Oregon, got quite a scare Monday morning when she went outside for a cigarette break.

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Alysha Sifford said she did a double-take when she saw what looked like a cougar perched on her neighbor's garage roof, according to KMTR-TV.

"He or she looked mad," Sifford told the news station.

“It stayed on the roof and watched me for a minute. I’m not afraid personally, just alarmed,” she said.

It turns out the cougar was actually a lion statue nailed to the roof by John Forrest several months ago to promote his antique business, KATU-TV reported.

“It's my resin lion we mounted on the roof,” Forrest said. “We thought it was kind of cool.”

Forrest admitted the lion has caused a stir around the area because cougars do roam the region.

"One lady was screaming at me not to come out of the garage because there is a cougar on the roof. She was on the phone with 911," Forrest told KATU.

Bandon Police Chief Bob Webb said it's not a crime to have a fake cougar at your home, according to KMTR.

“I'm not aware of any law that would bar you from keeping a fake cougar or snake on your roof,” Webb said.

“There are people that put carved bears in their front yard, but there is nothing criminal about it.”

Nonetheless, cougars can represent a threat. A hiker was killed in Mount Hood National Park last year by a cougar. The state’s wildlife department estimates Oregon is home to more than 6,000 of the big cats.

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