Vet Gets Drop On Cougar Manito Park Area Edgy Until Mom Looks Up, Spots Cat

Spokane’s Tina Bjorklund decided to drive her 11-year-old son, Thomas, to school Friday when she learned a cougar was running loose in her South Hill neighborhood.

“He told me I worry too much, but I didn’t want to take any chances,” said Bjorklund, who lives on 26th Avenue just west of Tekoa Street.

Unknown to her, the big cat was perched nearly 40 feet up a pine tree in her front yard.

Bjorklund didn’t spot the animal until after she returned home from the five-minute trip to Hutton Elementary.

“We must have walked right under him,” she said. “I drove back, looked up and there he was. I thought, ‘Whoa!”’

Jaws dropped all around the Manito Park area Friday morning as the cougar padded through back yards and across sidewalks.

Police received at least five calls from people who spotted the animal, Lt. D.L. Toombs said. The first report came about 6:20 a.m. from a resident who lives near 31st and Division.

State wildlife officials speculated the cougar was a young male recently turned out by its mother. He probably was looking for a place to establish his own territory when he made his way into town.

“He just wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Sgt. Ray Kahler of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Concerned about the safety of children on their way to school or playing at the Manito Park playground, police swarmed the area searching for the animal.

At least 16 officers prowled side streets in and around the park, warning joggers and walkers to be alert.

Bjorklund discovered the cat about 9:15 a.m. and notified authorities. Police cordoned off a full square block around her house and called in wildlife officials and a veterinarian with a tranquilizer gun.

Four patrolmen armed with shotguns and rifles watched the cougar while they waited for the experts to arrive. The cat twitched his tail nervously as a crowd gathered to watch.

“He was probably more scared than anyone else,” said Bjorklund, who stayed inside and watched the action on TV.

About 10:25 a.m., veterinarian Luther McConnell fired two tranquilizer darts at the cougar. The first missed. The second found its mark.

The woozy cat fell out of the tree less than five minutes later. Wildlife agents loaded it into a metal box and drove it away.

McConnell said the animal probably didn’t suffer any serious injuries in the fall.

Department of Wildlife spokeswoman Madonna Luers said agents later released the animal near Hunters Pass in Stevens County.

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