By . Steve Hopkins . A cougar captured in a Portland backyard had to be killed because it lost its fear of people, wildlife officials have said. Officials from Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife said the cougar was euthanized on Friday for safety reasons. On its Twitter page the organisation said: 'The cougar was humanely euthanised for public safety reasons. Cougar had habituated to urban environment and had lost its fear of people.' Portland residents were angry that wildlife officials didn't make any attempts to relocate the cougar to a sanctuary after it was spotted in a backyard tree in a densely populated neighbourhood . Portland residents took to social media to vent their frustrations that the animal couldn't have been re-homed. Amy Lestat wrote on the Facebook page of the Oregonian newspaper: 'The public wants to know why this animal could not be placed in a sanctuary or zoo. If almost seems as if with the short notice and due to the holiday, officials didn't want to deal with the inconvenience.' Residents had called police after spotting the big cat sitting in a cedar tree in a densely populated east Portland neighbourhood. Three hours later Wildlife officials tranqualized it with a dart then removed it. The tweet from Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife explaining why the cougar had to be euthanized . After being placed in a cage, the cougar was euthanized. The wildlife department told local media that it isn't easy to relocate older cougars, as it can create territorial conflicts with other big cats and spread disease. A necropsy was to be done on the cougar to determine if it was suffering from any illnesses and to find out what it had been eating.
Portland residents demand to know why big cat wasn't relocated .
Officials said it was euthanised for safety reasons as it didn't fear people .
And that rehousing cougars can cause territorial conflicts .
By . Steve Hopkins . A cougar captured in a Portland backyard had to be killed because it lost its fear of people, wildlife officials have said. Officials from Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife said the cougar was euthanized on Friday for safety reasons. On its Twitter page the organisation said: 'The cougar was humanely euthanised for public safety reasons. Cougar had habituated to urban environment and had lost its fear of people.' Portland residents were angry that wildlife officials didn't make any attempts to relocate the cougar to a sanctuary after it was spotted in a backyard tree in a densely populated neighbourhood . Portland residents took to social media to vent their frustrations that the animal couldn't have been re-homed. Amy Lestat wrote on the Facebook page of the Oregonian newspaper: 'The public wants to know why this animal could not be placed in a sanctuary or zoo. If almost seems as if with the short notice and due to the holiday, officials didn't want to deal with the inconvenience.' Residents had called police after spotting the big cat sitting in a cedar tree in a densely populated east Portland neighbourhood. Three hours later Wildlife officials tranqualized it with a dart then removed it. The tweet from Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife explaining why the cougar had to be euthanized . After being placed in a cage, the cougar was euthanized. The wildlife department told local media that it isn't easy to relocate older cougars, as it can create territorial conflicts with other big cats and spread disease. A necropsy was to be done on the cougar to determine if it was suffering from any illnesses and to find out what it had been eating.
euthanised for public safety reasons. Cougar had fear of people.' Portland residents were angry Oregonian newspaper: 'The public wants to know cougars, as it can create territorial conflicts