Cougar wandering Newport bayfront Thursday dies during capture attempt

On Friday, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife officials issued a statement on the attempted cougar capture. You can read it here.

NEWPORT — The cougar that caused consternation by wandering onto a Newport pier Thursday has died.

Despite initial reports of a successful water rescue after the tranquilized big cat jumped off the dock next to the Embarcadero Resort, state officials now say the cougar “took on too much water” and perished.

“It was ODFW’s intention to move the cougar out of town to a place where it could be safely released,” said Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife spokeswoman Beth Quillian. “It’s unfortunate that the cougar did not survive, but tranquilizing wildlife in an uncontrolled environment comes with risk.”

Newport police, Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies and wildlife rangers responded to the private dock about 9:45 a.m. Thursday after boaters and tourists spotted the cougar.

Officials contained the cat, a mid-sized adult male, to the wooden pier, but after the cougar was hit with a tranquilizer he leapt into the water. Deputies had launched their own craft from the South Beach Marina and attempted to rescue the cougar, but weren’t able to reach him in time.

There were no indications of threatening behavior prior to the cougar’s demise, authorities say.

“Never at any point did it threaten or snarl or chase anybody,” Sgt. Patrick Dougherty told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

It’s not known why this cougar decided to walk the docks, as Quillian says there were no reported sightings of it prior to Thursday.

“This was an unusual situation as cougars are normally elusive and wary of people,” Quillian said. “We can’t say for sure how this cougar made it to the dock.”

• Zane Sparling/The Oregonian/OregonLive