A wild puma is off the streets of Omaha after being spotted by a pair of workers from the Department of Roads. Dr. Lee Simmons, director of the Henry Doorly Zoo, dropped the meandering cat with a tranquilizer dart around 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The cat was seen wandering through a residential area along Farnam Street between 108th and 111th streets.

Police and members of the Nebraska Humane Society teamed to search for the roaming beast. They crossed paths in a creek bed near 112th and Davenport and contacted the Henry Doorly Zoo.

As authorities eventually moved in, Zoo Director Simmons shot the cat with a tranquilizer dart.

Before the drug could take effect the animal lunged at Officer James Hasiak who then fired a shotgun, grazing one of the cat's hind legs.

Officer Hasiak fell during the incident, suffering a slight injury.

The animal was taken to the zoo for treatment and Dr. Simmons says it's in good condition.

"This was a wild cat and it wasn't anything that somebody had as a pet," said Simmons, who added that the animal was extremely aggressive.

Simmons said he believes the cat wandered into the area along the Platte River and then up the Big Papillion Creek, which runs through Omaha near where the cat was found.

Simmons said the animal probably would not have charged an adult, but it would have gone after a child or small dog if it were hungry.

Omaha police officer Cathy Martinec says the animal measures five-and-a-half feet from his head to the start of his tail and he weighs approximately 180 pounds.

Cat tracks found in nearby Lamp Park, just west of Interstate 680, indicate the animal had been wandering there for a couple of days, Martinec said.

It is only the 11th confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in Nebraska since 1991 and it's the first sighting in the Omaha area.