SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Feb. 16, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A cougar that sparked fear after multiple sightings in the Riverton and Herriman areas has been captured.
“We have been informed by DWR that they have captured a mountain lion in Riverton off of 12600 South and 1800 West,” says a statement posted on social media Saturday by the Herriman Police Department.
“The animal was tranquilized and is being relocated. They believe it is the same one we have been tracking since yesterday.”
An earlier post by the Herriman Police Department said the wildcat had been spotted multiple times Friday and the night before. Officers from the Division of Wildlife Resources, the HPD and Unified Police had been working to track and contain the animal.
Riverton’s Foothills Elementary School and Herriman’s Blackridge Elementary both went into shelter-in-place mode after the mountain lion was spotted on Friday morning in the area.
DWR officials say the cougar captured Saturday was a young male. They released a video of its release after the effect of the tranquilizers wore off.
“After a day of roaming through Riverton neighborhoods, this young cougar is back in the mountains,” the DWR said on social media. “We tranquilized him and then released him yesterday afternoon in a remote part of Utah County. It took a few minutes for the groggy cat to get his bearings, but he’s in good shape and should adapt quickly to his new home. (It’s cougar country, after all!),” the DWR statement said.
