Real Cougar Sightings Causing Alarm In Pullman: Police

PULLMAN, WA - Almost everyone living in Pullman is a Cougars fan, but that doesn't mean residents want cougars roaming the streets.

There have been a series of cougar sightings recently in the Pullman, also home to the Washington State University Cougars. At this point, officials believe it's just one cougar at-large, and Pullman police are working with state wildlife officials to track down and trap the big cat.

The cougar has been spotted at least three times out on the streets in neighborhoods around Pullman High School and Military Hill Park. The most recent sighting was Monday morning near the intersection of Greyhound Way and Arcadia Drive, according to police.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, Pullman police assured local residents that officers are working on the problem. And while police have experience handling Cougars, officials said, officers aren't exactly prepared to handle the real thing.

"Pullman officers are not trained nor equipped to handle this type of wild animal," the department officials said Monday.

Image: A captured male cougar looks out of his cage in Discovery Park in Seattle, Washington, in 2009. The cougar apparently lived in Seattle for more than two weeks and forced the city's largest park to close was captured and returned to the wild. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey: File)