Cougar killed in Kennewick

The constant barking of his neighbor's dogs early Wednesday alerted James Ford that something wasn't right.

What he saw in the Kennewick backyard on the 3200 block of West Third Place was a nearly 120-pound cougar high in a tree.

About an hour later, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife officer shot and killed the young mountain lion after officials determined there was no other safe way to remove the wild animal from the dense residential area.

The Kennewick Police Department received its first call about the big cat at 1 a.m. Wednesday. There were two other sightings within a half-mile of where it eventually was cornered about 9 a.m., said Sgt. Mike Jewell with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Ford said he already had gotten a heads up from his neighbor David Carlson, who spotted the cougar at 4:20 a.m. as he left for work at ConAgra Foods. At first, he thought it was a large dog.

Carlson called the police, then notified Ford and other neighbors to be on the lookout.

But it wasn't until closer to 9 a.m. that Ford heard the dogs and saw the cougar about 25 feet up in a tree.

Jewell said it's rare to have a confirmed cougar sighting in the Tri-Cities. Cougars live on the Columbia, McNary and Hanford Reach national wildlife refuges and in the Horse Heaven Hills.

However, this is the second cougar found in town in a year. Last April, a cougar turned up in the basement of a home under construction in south Richland.

Based on the time of year, Jewell said it's likely the cat was looking for its own territory. It's about the time when adult cougars kick out last year's cubs, and the Tri-Cities is on multiple wildlife corridors, which follow area rivers.

Casey Leach was at Gold's Gym when she was told that a wildlife agent was trying to reach her.

She and her youngest daughter, Megan, 4, returned home to find all kinds of police cars and her dogs, Lucy and Maya, barking in the backyard.

Her other daughters, Kelsey, who turned 10 on Wednesday, and Sarah, 7, were at school, and her husband, Daniel, was working.

As soon as she called the dogs into the house about 10 a.m., the wildlife officer killed the cougar with one shot.

Jewell said the decision to shoot the animal was made after discussing options with his supervisor, an area wildlife biologist and Kennewick police.

He said it's not a choice he wanted to have to make. But considering the cougar's location, there wasn't another way to remove it while keeping the public safe.

There was no escape route for an unpredictable animal because it was in a neighborhood surrounded by other homes and people, Jewell said.

"We had no other option," he said.

The 4-foot-long cougar weighed about 110 to 120 pounds. Its paws were about 4 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches long, with claws the length of a human thumb.

Cougars are capable of taking down a deer in seconds, he said.

Neighbors gathered near Leach's home, using cellphones and cameras to take pictures as two officers carried the limp body of the young cougar to the back of a pickup.

"I just can't believe they shot him dead," said Katheryn Kerr.

Kerr said she was coming to voice her opposition to killing the cougar when she heard the shot. She and other commenters on the Herald's Facebook page and website said there should have been another option, such as using a tranquilizer dart.

But Jewell explained a tranquilizer could have taken 15 to 20 minutes to immobilize the animal.

Ford said he agreed the risk was too great. "I'm just happy that nobody got hurt," he said.

Jewell said if people see a cougar, they should keep their distance and report the sighting to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife by calling 360-902-2936. It helps to be specific about the time, location and what was seen. For more information, go to wdfw.wa.gov.

This story was originally published May 3, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cougar killed in Kennewick."