While a cougar that had recently been seen in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood was safely transported back into the wilderness, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials have stated that an adult male cougar was struck by a car and killed on SR 520 near Redmond around midnight Saturday, Sept. 5.

The driver was not hurt.

Sgt. Randy Lambert of WDFW confirmed that his colleague Sgt. Kim Chandler removed the carcass from the roadway, which would likely be turned over to the department’s biologist.

According to the WDFW Web site, “wildlife offices throughout the state receive hundreds of calls a year regarding sightings, attacks on livestock and pets, and cougar/human confrontations. Our increasing human populations and decreasing cougar habitat may create more opportunities for such encounters.”

Information about what to do, or not to do, if a cougar is seen in a residential area, can be found on the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Web site.