Cougar ... First animal (not pictured) of its type seen in Kentucky since before the American Civil War. Picture: US Fish and Wildlife Service Source: Supplied
THE first cougar seen in the "Bluegrass State" state Kentucky since before the 1861-1865 American Civil War has had his fate promptly decided.
The cougar — known as a mountain lion in America — was once native to Kentucky.
A young male was spotted up a tree on a farm in Bourbon County. The farmer promptly called Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, who arrived and shot the cougar dead.
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Mark Marraccini, a spokesman for the department, said the animal had been in a tree by a barking dog and an officer decided it was best to "dispatch it", The Courier-Journal reported.
He said the officer shot the cat because it was getting dark and the animal might slip away and threaten people in the nearby city of Paris, population 8553 in a 2010 census.
"If that cat had left that tree, it would have disappeared into the brush and it was a fairly populated area," said Marraccini, who said it would have taken several hours and it would have been dark before a state veterinarian could retrieve the tranquilliser from her safe and get it to the scene, had officials taken that route.
"It sounds good but it's pretty impractical," said Marraccini, who said the officer who shot the cat made the right call.
"That's the way the officers deemed to handle it and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be handled that way," he said.
Cougar ... also known as a mountain lion in the USA. Picture: AP / National Park Service Source: AP
The cougar weighed 60kg and was healthy, an examination found.
It is not known if the animal escaped from captivity or was wild.
The Cougar Network states that the cat is mostly confined to the western US but is advancing east. For years, the Mississippi River was thought to be a barrier to the mountain lion's eastern expansion, but it is becoming clear they have been getting close to Kentucky.
Mountain Lion Foundation's Amy Rodrigues told The Courier-Journal that cougars have colonised in South Dakota, Nebraska and Missouri with sightings in recent years in Indiana and even downtown Chicago.
Rodrigues said that the cougar should not have been killed and the sight of a cougar should not cause fear.
"If you're a deer, they're a little dangerous. If you're a human, not so much," she said.
"Attacks on people are not that common. There have only been 22 deaths in the last 120 years."
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