MILLCREEK, Utah — Millcreek residents were startled to find an early morning four-legged visitor hanging out in a neighborhood tree.
A cougar sighting in the neighborhood near the mouth of Neffs Canyon brought a response from the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources, as well as law enforcement officers.
Video taken by resident Mike Saraylian showed the cougar sitting in the tree, minding its own business.
After discussing options, biologists chose to haze the cougar as a way of encouraging it to leave the area instead of using tranquilizers and risk the animal falling into a yard.
After creating a clear path to exit the tree, which would lead on to the mountainside, officers used non-lethal bean bag rounds to get the cougar to leave, which it eventually did, but not before going through other backyards.
"Utah is a wild space. We've got a lot of wildlife that cohabitate the space that we love and occupy as well," said DWR Conservation Outreach Manager Michael Packer. "Coexistence is kind of the key; a lot of us like to recreate in this beautiful habitat, but we're also in the backyards of a lot of cool animals."
