A 77-pound mountain lion set off a scramble Tuesday because it wandered by San Francisco’s rich Pacific Heights neighborhood earlier than lastly being captured as onlookers safely peered from their residence home windows or stood throughout the road.
Dozens of officers labored to seize and tranquilize the male cat after warnings have been issued advising individuals to slowly again away in the event that they encountered it.
The wild cat was first seen Monday morning.
“It was so massive … not only a common cat,” stated Madrey Hilton, who took video of the animal Monday morning and alerted authorities, in response to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The lion “simply appeared prefer it was minding its personal enterprise,” Hilton informed the newspaper, including that it scaled the wall and headed into picturesque Lafayette Park, which options two tennis courts, a youngsters’s playground, and an off-leash canine space.
The mountain lion was discovered Tuesday hiding in a backyard between two condominium buildings, San Francisco Fireplace Division Lt. Mariano Elias stated. Authorities shot the feline with tranquilizers thrice “to verify it was utterly unconscious,” Elias stated. “They lined his eyes and certain its paws, simply to verify it wasn’t going to run wherever.”
Veterinarians with the San Francisco Zoo then examined the cat earlier than putting it in a cage. It would endure additional testing to make sure it’s wholesome earlier than it’s launched to the wild, Elias stated.
The two-year-old male cougar was tagged and final noticed in Saratoga, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of San Francisco, he stated. Cougars, mountain lions, panthers and pumas are the identical cat species — puma concolor, in response to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance web site.
Mountain lion sightings are uncommon in San Francisco, the place coyotes abound.
In 2020, a younger mountain lion was noticed sleeping in a planter field alongside a usually busy road and taking a look at his reflection within the glass of an workplace tower in downtown San Francisco. The animal was later safely captured and launched into the wild.
Consultants say the animals come up alongside the Pacific coast from the hills south of town, however ultimately discover their manner again to the wilderness.
Angela Yip, a spokesperson for town’s Animal Care and Management, stated there was no risk to the general public.
Mountain lions additionally stay in Los Angeles, one of many world’s solely megacities of 10 million-plus, the place massive felines thrive by breeding, searching and sustaining territory inside city boundaries.
