Local News

Stone Zoo’s cougar Blue dies at age 9 after months of seizures

His zookeepers said he enjoyed rolling around pumpkins, as well as ginger and pumpkin spice scents.

Stone Zoo

December 4, 2023

1 minute to read

Blue, a cougar who had lived at Stone Zoo in Stoneham since he was a cub, died on Saturday, the zoo said in a press release.

After months of seizures, 9-year-old Blue was responding well to treatment. His condition rapidly declined a day before his death, prompting the zoo to euthanize the cougar due to the frequency and severity of the seizures.

“He has been an incredible presence at Stone Zoo since he arrived as a very young cub,” Zoo New England President and CEO John Linehan said. “Guests had the opportunity to watch Blue grow up, and we know there are many people who love him as much as we do.”

The cougar came to Zoo New England’s Stone Zoo in 2014 after he found alone in Idaho. He was just 5 pounds and in need of a permanent home. Cougars, also known as panthers, mountain lions, and pumas, range from the Yukon in Canada through the western United States to Patagonia.

He made his public debut at 10 weeks old in the zoo’s nursery before moving to his permanent home. Blue stayed in the Treasures of the Sierra Madre section of the zoo, where his zookeepers said he enjoyed rolling around with pumpkins, as well as ginger and pumpkin spice scents.

Pete Costello, Assistant Curator at Stone Zoo, traveled to Idaho in 2014 to bring Blue to Massachusetts.

“With cougars, their aloofness makes them so endearing, and Blue took this to another level. Blue was one of my favorites, and he will be greatly missed not only by me, but by everyone who knew him,” Costello said in Saturday’s press release.