Cougar caught in Seattle is released in wild

SEATTLE (AP) — A cougar that apparently had lived in Seattle for more than two weeks and forced the city’s largest park to close was captured early Sunday and returned to the wild, state wildlife officials said.

The cougar was immobilized with a tranquilizer in Discovery Park about 2:30 a.m. after hunting dogs treed it, Department of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Bill Hebner said.

An enforcement officer and the dogs tracked the animal after authorities were told it had been spotted Saturday night, the latest sighting in or near the 534-acre preserve, he said.

The cougar is a 21‚Ñ2-year-old male, weighs 140 pounds and is in very good health, Capt. Bill Hebner said.

After examining the animal, wildlife agents drove it to be released in the Cascade foothills near Skykomish, about 45 miles northeast of Seattle.

“It’s a very good prospect for relocation,” Hebner said.

The animal likely preyed on house cats during its time in the park, Hebner said.

In an unrelated incident, a cougar was struck and killed by an automobile Saturday evening in Redmond, east of Seattle. The driver of the vehicle was unhurt, Hebner said.