A cougar that has been an “incredible presence” at a local zoo for almost a decade has died, according to Zoo New England’s Stone Zoo.

Blue the cougar was euthanized over the weekend after he reportedly suffered multiple seizures, and he was no longer responding to medication. Blue was 9 years old.

“We are completely heartbroken to share this news about Blue,” said John Linehan, Zoo New England’s president and CEO. “He has been an incredible presence at Stone Zoo since he arrived as a very young cub.

“Guests had the opportunity to watch Blue grow up, and we know there are many people who love him as much as we do,” Linehan added. “This is an incredibly sad day, and we appreciate everyone who is keeping our animal care team in their thoughts.”

Blue began experiencing seizures several months ago and had responded well to treatment, according to staff at the Stoneham zoo.

But within his final 24 hours, Blue experienced multiple seizures and was no longer responding to medication. Staff decided to euthanize him due to the frequency and severity of the seizures, his rapidly declining health, and a poor prognosis for his quality of life.

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In 2014, the tiny 5-pound cub was found alone near Salmon, Idaho. Officials at the time determined it would not be possible to successfully return him to the wild because of his young age.

He needed a home, and staff at Stone Zoo traveled to Idaho to bring Blue to his new home in Massachusetts.

Once he was big enough, guests got to watch him explore his nursery space at Stone Zoo. When he outgrew this space, he settled into his permanent home within the Treasures of the Sierra Madre section of the zoo. Blue loved to roll around pumpkins, and he also enjoyed different scents, including ginger powder and pumpkin pie spice.

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

One of the largest of the wild cats in North America, the cougar is also known as a panther, painter, mountain lion, puma and catamount.

Although the cougar’s U.S. range has diminished throughout the last century, they still have the widest distribution of any land mammal in the Western Hemisphere.

They range from the Yukon in Canada through the western portion of the U.S., and a small portion of the eastern U.S. to Patagonia. Cougars are found in all habitats from lowlands to mountainous regions and from deserts to tropical forests.