Big cat sighted in Port Ludlow back yard: ‘I don’t want a cougar to see my kids as prey’

PORT LUDLOW — A cougar sighting in a residential area has residents wondering why agents with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife aren’t up in arms.

Mike Jacobs spotted a cougar in his yard on Thursday night and took a picture of the animal from beyond his sliding glass door into the backyard.

The cougar was sitting less than 30 feet away, and was watching his three children eat dinner.

“This is not a fun situation,” Jacobs said.

“Now my kids can’t run around in their own back yard.”

Jacobs said he called state Fish and Wildlife but with minimal success.

“I have been on the phone with them for over an hour,” he said on Friday afternoon.

“They say they aren’t going to do anything, and that is unacceptable.”

Jacobs said that he and his wife want the animal to be dispatched by the state since his hands are tied.

“They told me I could shoot it if it comes on the property,” Jacobs said.

“But you can’t fire a gun in Port Ludlow.”

Wildlife officials said they do not plan to set traps for the animal and will not release hounds to tree the animal because it is in a residential area.

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