SEATTLE — 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 the 534-acre Discovery Park about 2:30 a.m. after hunting dogs treed it, Department of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Bill Hebner said.
The cougar is a 2 1/2-year-old male, weighs 140 pounds and is in very good health, Hebner said. The animal was released in the Cascade foothills near Skykomish, about 45 miles northeast of Seattle, with a GPS collar.
The park reopened late Sunday morning.
The animal probably preyed on house cats during its time in the park, Hebner said.
Wildlife officers believe the cougar followed a wooded rail corridor running south into the city, then crossed the Lake Washington Ship Canal over a railroad bridge to reach the park.
“He came a long ways without being seen,” Hebner said, a good sign the elusive cat wants little to do with people.
