SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says a Scottsbluff police officer shot a mountain lion that had wandered into a neighborhood.

Conservation officer Scott Brandt says the 70-pound female cat was seen in a tree near Scottsbluff High School on Sunday morning. When she came down from the tree, the police officer shot her, causing critical injuries.

The cat ran, but was found in a garage a few blocks away. Brandt says the cat was then euthanized with a dart gun.

Mountain lions — also known as cougars, pumas, panthers or catamounts — became a protected species under Nebraska law in 1995 and can’t be hunted. They can be killed if they are threatening livestock or the safety of others.