Oregon state wildlife officials euthanized a cougar Friday that had repeatedly been seen in Portland neighborhoods. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife decided killing the animal was best, since the cougar reportedly had "lost its fear of people."

Once news hit that ODFW had killed the animal, social media ignited with posts arguing that there were better ways of removing it from human-populated areas.

"The public wants to know why this animal could not be placed in a sanctuary or zoo," Portland resident Amy Lestat wrote to The Oregonian on its Facebook page. "It almost seems as if with the short notice and due to the holiday, officials didn't want to deal with the inconvenience."

Residents in east Portland had seen the cougar in the days leading up to the ODFW intervention, with three sightings early Friday alone. By Friday afternoon, police had found it in a tree near the 2900 block of 121st Avenue. They surrounded the tree, according to the Oregonian, and ODFW officials arrived and tranquilized the animal, then removed it from the scene.

While the department didn't make immediate comments, it outlined its policy in a March 2012 cougar trapping in a Eugene city park.

"ODFW regularly places cougar kittens in zoos and other Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facilities thanks to our partnership with the Oregon Zoo in Portland," the department wrote.

However, the department said adult wild cougars are not typically good candidates for captivity, as "relocation would create territorial conflicts among existing cougar populations and could also spread disease," the department wrote.

Wildlife advocates like Predator Defense co-founder and Executive Director Brooks Fahy find fault with the department's statement and practices.

"They are an agency that is in the business of killing animals," Fahy said to the Eugene Weekly in March.

Fahy and others argue that wild cougar attacks are very rare and say the only fatality related to the large cat was an animal sanctuary worker killed by a captive cougar.