A wealthy California neighborhood was thrown into chaos after a mountain lion was spotted prowling the streets, prompting an hours-long standoff as terrified residents locked themselves inside their homes.
Wildlife and animal control crews rushed to San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood Friday morning after the big cat was seen roaming near Ulloa Street and 44th Avenue, just blocks from the Pacific coastline.
‘It was kind of crazy, we heard the police come out, they had all the bullhorns telling everybody, “You need to disperse, get back in your homes,”‘ resident Shane Jordan said, according to KGO News.
‘Within a few minutes we learned that it was a mountain lion running around the neighborhood and so obviously there was a lot of concern,’ he added.
Dramatic footage captured the animal darting across front yards and creeping beneath windows, while another image showed it crouched under a bush, ears perked as it appeared to stand guard.
Mark Mahoney and Grace Erickson said the sudden sound of frantic bird squawks drew them to the window, where they watched in disbelief as the wild cat scurried across their driveway.
‘It’s really exciting to see it so close,’ Mahoney said, according to The San Francisco Standard. ‘They’re just stunning creatures.’
In another video, the mountain lion was seen sprinting down the middle of the street between responding crews’ vehicles, evading capture as one official briefly chased after it.
A wealthy neighborhood in San Francisco, California, was thrown into chaos after a mountain lion was spotted prowling the streets Friday morning
Dramatic footage showed the giant cat sprinting down the middle of the street between responding crews’ vehicles, evading capture as one official briefly chased after it
The mountain lion was later identified as a young male, believed to be between two and three years old and weighing around 78 pounds, Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira told SFGate
The hunt took another turn when crews moved in to tranquilize the cat, only for it to bolt yet again. Residents and media were forced back as the animal paused at a corner before vanishing into thick bushes.
But roughly four hours after it was first spotted, officials finally managed to tranquilize and capture the cat in the heart of the ritzy neighborhood, bringing the tense chase to an end.
The mountain lion was later identified as a young male, believed to be between two and three years old and weighing around 78 pounds, Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Peter Tira told SFGate.
‘This was never a public safety concern or public safety threat of any kind,’ he told the outlet. ‘This was simply a wayward young lion who got stuck in the Outer Sunset.’
He said the young male was a dispersing lion who had recently left his mother in search of territory, likely straying into the urban area before finding himself trapped with no clear way back to open habitat.
‘It’s always a challenge, particularly for a young mountain lion, a male mountain lion especially,’ Tira explained.
‘They’re out on their own for the first time and they kind of have to find their way in the world.’
The first sighting was reported around 7.30am, triggering an emergency alert from the city urging residents to stay away and warning them not to run if they suddenly came face-to-face with the mountain lion.
Roughly four hours after it was first spotted, officials finally managed to tranquilize and capture the cat in the Outer Sunset neighborhood, bringing the hours-long standoff to an end
Tira said the young male was a dispersing lion who had recently left his mother in search of territory
Tira said the cat likely wandered into the urban area before finding himself trapped with no clear way back to open habitat
Anyone who encountered the cat was told to slowly back away, keep dogs on leashes and scoop up their children.
If the wild cat continued advancing, officials said residents should stand their ground and make themselves appear as large as possible by waving their arms, shouting and throwing objects at it.
But the most important warning was simple: do not run. One sudden movement could trigger the mountain lion’s chase response.
Just after 9am, two animal control vans arrived with a tranquilizer gun after the mountain lion was spotted hiding beneath Mahoney and Erickson’s home, according to The San Francisco Standard.
But the animal managed to evade capture, darting into nearby bushes before crews could get to it.
Just before 10.30am, city and state agencies finally tracked down the elusive beast, with Animal Care and Control, San Francisco Police and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife joining the search.
‘We want everybody to be aware, especially out in that neighborhood,’ Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video statement at the time. ‘We have eyes on this mountain lion, so just avoid the area, and we will keep you posted.’
Photos taken after the successful capture showed the tranquilized big cat lying motionless on a stretcher as gloved crews gathered around it to carry out a brief health assessment.
Photos taken after the successful capture showed the tranquilized big cat lying motionless on a stretcher as gloved crews gathered around it to carry out a brief health assessment
Researchers with the Santa Cruz Puma Project fitted the big cat with a satellite GPS tracking collar at the scene, with Tira revealing that he will now become part of the department’s scientific study
The lion has since been released back into the wild in the Santa Cruz Mountains, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Tira told SFGate that male mountain lions can claim territories of roughly 50 square miles, with established males typically unwilling to tolerate another male encroaching on their territory.
‘It’s a real challenge for a young male mountain lion to find a place to live on its own where there’s not already a dominant male,’ he said.
Tira said young lions occasionally enter the city from the San Mateo Peninsula, where an established mountain lion population lives, wandering for a home of their own.
Researchers with the Santa Cruz Puma Project fitted the big cat with a satellite GPS tracking collar at the scene, with Tira revealing that he will now become part of the department’s scientific study, according to SFGate.
‘The plan, as what usually happens in these things, is to return that mountain lion to its wild habitat,’ he told the outlet. ‘It will become part of the Puma Project’s research efforts as they track its movements and behavior and patterns in the wild.’
The project, run in collaboration with UC Santa Cruz, studies mountain lion movements and behavior across the greater Santa Cruz Mountains region.
He has since been released back into the wild in the Santa Cruz Mountains, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
