The cougar who has been spotted in Magnolia for the past week has been captured and released back into the wild somewhere in Snohomish County. Discovery Park has reopened to the public. 

The cougar was captured this morning around 2 a.m. by wildlife officials and tracking dogs (see photos).  The cougar is said to be healthy and weighs 138 pounds.  Wildlife officials tell us that is a good size cat for the city and that he is “timid and shy and well-behaved as cougars go.”

We’ve been covering the story all day since we first reported the capture this morning. Here’s the story on the cougar’s capture, an interview with the wildlife official who caught the cougar this morning, an interview with nearby residents and information about how they will now track the cougar via text message once he is released.  Our updated cougar sighting map is here. 

It was a thrill for us to get to see this amazing animal up close, and here is our favorite picture of the cougar.

The cougar was never given a name but is now known as his tag number, which is 1010.  We wish 1010 safe travels.

First on Magnolia Voice: Wildlife officers captured the cougar in Discovery Park early this morning. Dogs were able to track the cougar’s scent in the rain, and they chased it up a tree. Wildlife officers successfully tranquilized and captured the animal. Photos and coverage follow below:

UPDATED 9 a.m.:  The cougar is starting to wake up and wildlife officials are getting ready to take him to Snohomish County where he will be released into the wild.  These pictures show that he is lifting his head and moving around in his enclosure. 

Wildlife officials are monitoring him carefully and say that he is doing very well.

 UPDATED 8 a.m.:  Discovery Park will reopen at 11 a.m. today. The cougar is now sedated and resting in a truck.  He is about three years old and weighs 138 pounds.  He was captured at 2 a.m. 

Department of Wildlife officials received information about another sighting from someone working at the Daybreak Center at 7pm and officer Nicholas Jorg came in at midnight to hunt the cougar. 

Even with the pouring rain, they were able to pick up the scent and the dogs found the cougar.  He was on the road that leads to the cultural center in a big leaf maple tree.

Updated 7:30am: Here are the first pictures of the captured cougar:

The elusive cougar that has been spotted in Magnolia and Discovery Park has been caught. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials tell us that they brought dogs in around 2 a.m. today, the dogs caught the scent of the cougar and chased it up a tree inside the park. Officials used a tranquilizer gun and got the cat out of the tree. We’re told that the cougar is fine and will be released this afternoon.

Follow our ongoing coverage of the cougar’s capture on Magnolia Voice by clicking to the home page or by visiting our latest stories:
- Cougar equipped with device that will send out text messages
- Neighbors relieved with cougar’s capture
- Cougar arrived in Magnolia “by accident,” officials say

Updated 6 p.m.  Police are stationed at the entrances to Discovery Park, making sure that visitors do not enter the park. They are allowing employees from the wastewater treatment plant to go to work but no one else is allowed inside the park until they catch the cougar.  If they don’t catch the cougar by Monday morning, state wildlife officials will come up with a new plan.  Police tell us that anyone who enters the park can be fined $124 dollars.

Updated 4 p.m.  We now have additional details on the cougar sighting this morning.  Wildlife officials say the cougar was observed by a man who lives on Commodore Way just northeast of the park. He apparently opened his door and saw the cougar in his driveway before it fled into Discovery Park.

And it now appears that raccoon remains found in the park this morning are not linked to the cougar.  Its more likely that the raccoon was eaten by a homeless person, according to the Seattle Parks Department.  Parks spokeswoman Joelle Ligon told our partners at The Seattle Times that the carcass was found next to a fire pit where officials believe the homeless person was camping.  Despite the fact the raccoon carcass was not left by the cougar, the state set another trap near that site on the east side of the park.  Wildlife officials initially thought the raccoon carcass, which was found by a Seattle Parks Department employee, was left by the cougar. 

Updated 2 p.m.  The Department of Fish and Wildlife says that there was one sighting of the cougar in Discovery Park this morning.  Spokesman Darren Friedel confirms the sighting and tells us he is not sure exactly what time the cougar was observed in the park but he says it was seen in the area of the west entrance.  Officials are actively working to trap and relocate the cougar.

Updated 12 p.m.  A raccoon carcass was found at the park this morning.  Enforcement officers plan to set another trap in the park near the site of that carcass.  Cougars are known to eat smaller animals like racoons.

We just checked with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the cougar is still on the loose.  ”Nothing yet. But our officers and park officials are continuing to monitor the area,” says spokesman Darren Friedel.

© The Seattle Times / Ken Lambert

Discovery Park will remain closed until Monday, unless the cougar is captured.  They are hoping to catch the cougar and relocate it to a rural area.  As you can see in this picture from The Seattle Times, officials from Fish and Wildlife set a trap in the park yesterday but so far the big cat is not taking the bait.  We will keep you updated throughout the day.  More coverage here and here.

Plus: See the latest cougar sightings here on our map.

Magnolia voice reader Linda wrote to let us know that she may have encountered the cougar on Wednesday:

Last night when I went out to move a garbage can and pick some tomatoes, I scared a large animal that ran through my back yard, into the bushes, and down a bank towards 31st.  Based on the movement of the bushes, it appeared to be about 3 feet tall.  I didn’t get a good enough look to positively ID it, but it is most likely the elusive cougar as it was big and moved very fast.    

This location is consistent with other reports from residents.

Plus: We added the sighting to our cougar map here

A steady stream of cars arrived at Discovery Park this afternoon, only to learn the park was closed as wildlife officials attempt to trap a cougar that has been on the loose for the past week.

There were notices posted at all entrances to the park and it looks like they are a little short of signs since they are using this snow closure barricade at the north entrance.

Many people who arrived at the park were disappointed to find out it would be closed during the Labor Day weekend.  The 534 acre park’s many trails and viewpoints are extremely popular with locals and visitors.

This jogger had to find an alternate route.  Wildlife officials plan to keep the park closed until Monday, unless they are able to trap the cougar earlier. 

Lots of cars arrived at the north entrance, only to turn around after learning the park was shut down.

Here is the sign at the south gate.  We didn’t see anyone guarding the park’s entrances but the signs did seem to be keeping visitors away.

Plus: See all of the cougar sightings on a map

Updated 5 p.m. Early this afternoon, wildlife officials shut down Discovery Park and initiated a search for the Magnolia cougar. People are being told to leave the park, and we’re told it will not reopen until Monday at the earliest, unless they catch the cougar.  

Signs are now being put up at the park, like this one in the visitors center.

And this notice is posted at the south entrance. Darren Friedel with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife says that they received another call last night about a cougar in Discovery Park. “The reports seem credible,” he says, so Fish & Wildlife officers have set a trap within Discovery Park and will try to track the cougar with Karelian bear dogs. “The hope is to trap and relocate the cougar,” Friedel tells us.

This is the trap covered in ferns, using fish for bait. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7). And watch this video from the Times demonstrating how the trap works.

The latest sighting is believed to be from “SeattleRio” who posted a comment here on Magnolia Voice last night.  ”We spotted the cougar nearby the Navy government housing south of the flagpole at 5 p.m.,” SeattleRio said. “SPD responded after we contacted them, but was unable to observe anything afterwards.” We updated the map with the latest sighting:

(Click the icons for details of each sighting.)

Magnolia Voice first posted the news about a sighting a week ago, and many more sightings have been reported to us (here and here) over the last few days, attracting city-wide media coverage.

Until this afternoon, some neighbors had complained in comments and email that the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife was not taking the sightings seriously enough. “Why doesn’t DFW just set some traps?” Magnolia resident Marilyn asked yesterday. “A week into this and they won’t come out without a phone call made during a sighting, and then it will take them 20 minutes to get there. Are we supposed to ask the cougar to wait?”

For information about what to do if you encounter a cougar, visit here.

Also: Discovery Park closure surprises joggers, hikers

Reports of a cougar roaming in Magnolia prompted our partners at the Seattle Times to take a look back at a cougar who was found in Discovery Park 1981.  He was called D.B. Cougar, after the elusive hijacker D.B. Cooper who dropped from the sky and disappeared, because the big cat seemed to have simply dropped into the park.

Initially wildlife agents were skeptical of reports from Magnolia residents. When wildlife officers found evidence that the cougar had likely killed raccoons in the park, they decided the reports might be real and stepped up efforts to find the cougar. 

They raked a sand dune along the park’s bluff to make it smooth, hoping the cougar would leave footprints. When he did they made a plaster cast of the print and it was identified as a male cougar weighing in the 115-pound range.

Wildlife officials tracked the cougar with dogs late that night and captured him on the bluff in the park.  He was eventually released near Enumclaw.

Here is the latest from Seattle Police regarding the cougar sightings in our area.

A 50-something year old man says he woke up in the woods in Discovery Park three weeks ago, lost and confused, without a wallet. And without any memory of his name or how he got there. The Seattle Times spoke with him at Swedish Medical Center. “I find myself in tears that I don’t know if I want the memories,” he said, explaining he remembers bits and pieces, like the death of his wife in 1985 and a detailed memory of European cultural history. Police are working to identify him, but have few clues to work on. (Photo by Mike Seigel, Seattle Times. More here.)

Update: The Times says a reader identified him as Edward Lighthart, an English teacher who worked in China in 2005. Another reader pointed out the German website, which features a photo of Lighthart. But how he arrived in Discovery Park is still a mystery.

Updated Tuesday:  Looks like the black bear is still on the run. At 9 p.m. last night, he was sighted near Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 160th Street — which meant he had crossed Interstate 5.  Then a little before 6a.m. today a jogger using the Kellogg Middle School track reported seeing a bear heading into the Hamlin Park woods near Northeast 165th Steet and 15th Avenue Northeast.  The district called police and is telling students to stay out of the nearby woods today, and if they see a bear, steer clear of it. The school is just east of the wooded Hamlin Park.

The young bear has been named the “Urban Phantom” by wildlife agents, led by state Fish & Wildlife Sgt. Kim Chandler.  “The whole idea of the search was to help him,” says Chandler. “But he doesn’t seem to want our help, and seems to be doing OK.”

Urban Phantom has had a busy few days. The black bear was first seen in Discovery Park on Sunday before running through the middle of Ballard Monday and making his way to Twin Ponds Park in Shoreline.  Fish & Wildlife officials don’t believe the small bear is dangerous.

Updated 3p.m.  That is one fast moving bear and he has now traveled all the way from Magnolia to Shoreline.  Wildlife officials believe the bear is in Shoreline at the Twin Ponds Park.  They have just closed the park to try to contain the bear.  KING TV coverage here.

Updated 7:30 a.m.  It appears the Magnolia bear moved on to Ballard overnight. Seattle Police and wildlife officers spent most of the early morning hours trying to capture a small bear who ran through yards and down back alleys, first spotted at 15th Ave. and 77th St. just after midnight. My Ballard reader Silver tracked the police calls in the forum here. Wildlife officers were armed with tranquilizer darts and a tracking dog, and they told the crew from My Ballard to stay in the car as they followed the chase at a safe distance.

But the bear was too quick. By 3 a.m., it had disappeared in the area around 11th Ave. and 92nd St. Officers decided to call off the pursuit, but the animal resurfaced at 5:30 a.m. at 133rd and Meridian. An officer on scene early this morning told us they believed this is the same black bear that was reported yesterday near Discovery Park, and that it probably made the swim over the Ship Canal to Ballard.

Two different people reported seeing a black bear in Magnolia early Sunday.  The first report came in around midnight from a caller who said that they believed a bear was wandering in their yard in the 5600 block of 39th Avenue West.   The caller reported that the bear then wandered out of the yard.  The second call came in at around 6:45 a.m. from a resident in the 4200 block of 34th Avenue West.  That person stated they believed the animal was headed toward a ravine east of Discovery Park. 

Magnolia resident Albert Lee came face to face with the animal. 

“A black bear jumped out over the edge of the flowers here and just lumped along and headed straight through to my neighbor’s house,” said Lee. He said he’s never seen anything like it. “My first impression was that’s a mighty big black dog, I wonder what neighbor’s dog (it is)…then it clicked in – look at the butt on that thing. That is a bear,” Lee said. “Probably two, 250 pounds. Butt, body, head. Pretty straight forward. I saw enough of it to know that it was clearly not a dog.”

There have been no additional sightings since Sunday in Magnolia. Seattle Police say they are aware of the calls and are monitoring the park.  The Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Parks Department have been notified and they are aware of the possible sightings. 

We received a number of emails from residents who tell us the bear sightings are the talk of the neighborhood today.  If anyone does see a bear, call 911.  Click here for information from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.  

Update: Police and wildlife officials are tracking a bear in Ballard early Monday morning.  A police officer said they believe the bear may have swam over from Discovery Park.

UPDATE: The group says that over 60 people attended the event and they raised around $2,000.

UPDATE:  The fundraiser was profiled in today’s Seattle PI.  Interesting comments and opinions following the article.  Check it out here.

A guick reminder that the Magnolia Neighborhood Planning Council is hosting a fundraiser to fight development in Discovery Park on Tuesday, December 2 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.  The silent auction and petition signing party will feature entertainment and appetizers  at Serendipity Café.  Tickets are $50 per person or $75 per couple.  They are on sale here or at the door. 

The group is raising funds for their legal fight against the City of Seattle. The lawsuit asserts that the city’s desire to sell the Fort Lawton property to developers disregards the Discovery Master Plan.  

There will be speakers talking about the history of the Discovery Park Master Plan and the uniqueness of the park.  The lawyer for the group will also give a brief overview of their case. 

 The evening includes a silent auction with items from Magnolia merchants and beyond, including center court seats for a Husky basketball Game, Mariner tickets, Jamie Moyer autographed memorabilia, Go Legs spin class gift certificate, a residential landscape design package, vacation cabin stay, movie ticket package and gift certificates from Kaspar’s, Dish it Up!, LeRoux, Carnolia Cleaners and Mulleady’s

The group says that 100% of all funds raised will be used to support the legal effort to annex Fort Lawton back to Discovery Park.

The Magnolia Neighborhood Planning Council is hosting a fundraiser for their efforts to fight development in Discovery Park.  The silent auction, and petition signing party will feature entertainment and appetizers  at Serendipity Café.  The event is on Tuesday, December 2 from 5:30 – 8:30 pm.   Tickets on sale here. 

The group is raising funds to continue their legal fight against the City of Seattle. The lawsuit asserts that the city’s desire to sell the Fort Lawton property to developers disregards the Discovery Master Plan and the provision that allows military base land closures to be reallocated as parkland. 

The group says that 100% of all funds raised will be used to support the legal effort to annex Fort Lawton back to Discovery Park.

Those sirens heard all over Magnolia late Saturday afternoon came from a rescue effort at Disocvery Park.  Fire crews rushed to save two men stuck on a bluff at the park.  The two had been hiking and got stuck when the tide came in and firefighters used ropes to pull them to safety.  They were not hurt.  The call for help came just after 5 p.m.

You are invited to pitch in and help make area parks beautiful today (Saturday, November 8).  The city of Seattle wants residents to  mark the third annual Green Seattle Day by giving a few hours to help plant, mulch and clean up 19  parks, including Discovery Park in Magnoloia.  

If you want to volunteer, meet at 10am at the Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center/Visitor Center, wear work clothes and sturdy shoes/boots and bring a water bottle. Tools and gloves will be provided.  The event will run until 2pm.

The city expects about 800 volunteers will plant more than 4,000 trees, shrubs and ground cover plants around the city. 

“We need to restore Seattle’s forested parklands to protect these unique natural settings in the midst of our city,” said Mayor Greg Nickels.  “Forested parklands provide wonderful environmental, community, and economic benefits to our residents, as well as reduce climate pollution.”

The city has established an aggressive goal of increasing Seattle’s tree cover from a current level of 18% to 30% in 30 years, and has launched the Seattle reLeaf program to meet this ambitious goal.

For more information about the Seattle reLeaf program, visit www.seattle.gov/trees/

No word yet on the next move for the homeless group that has set up camp at Discovery Park behind the Daybreak Star Cultural Center.

At our visit today, the group said that things are pretty much up in the air and they are waiting for word from organizers as to what will happen next.  The city has given them notice that they must vacate the property on Sunday night.

The group estimates that there are about 55 people living there right now.  In the rain today most of the members of the group were adding tarps to their tent areas to stay dry and drinking coffee while they waited for organizers to arrive at the site and map out their next move.

One of the members of the group that I talked to said they want to find land where they can stay long term. They originally thought that the the park site was federal land and they could avoid city laws but found out that the land is leased to the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation from the city.

Another man says he does not like other tent city locations because he wants more freedom.  Currently there is a legally recognized homeless encampment at Haller Lake United Methodist Church.  That camp has about 100 people sleeping there each night and is open to new residents

It is not clear exactly what will happen on Sunday night but it is likely to be similar to the action the city took last week at the South Seattle site.  The police department swept the area, arresting 22 people for illegally camping on public property.  They were jailed for a short time and then given Metro bus passes when they were released. 

The members of the group I spoke to said they had not really had any contact with Magnolia residents since they arrived at Discovery Park.  They said no one except the media has visited the camp.

The website and the announcement site for the group have information from yesterday but no updates.