By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and HAVEN DALEY
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — 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 dwelling home windows or stood throughout the road.
Dozens of officers labored to seize and tranquilize the male cat after warnings had been issued advising individuals to slowly again away in the event that they encountered it.
The wild cat was first seen Monday morning.
Roxanne Clean was being dropped off outdoors her dwelling round 3 a.m. Monday, when she noticed the massive cat nonchalantly strolling down the streets and going up her residence stoop, about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) from the place the animal was caught Tuesday.
“I assumed it was a canine at first, however then I noticed the tail and realized that it’s not a canine. Then it tripped the sunshine sensor, and that’s after I noticed its face and was like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s a mountain lion!’” Clean mentioned Tuesday.
She mentioned she calmly pulled out her telephone and commenced recording because the mountain lion “locked eyes” together with her for over 5 minutes.
“We had been simply observing one another, however I felt actually calm, and I felt like possibly the mountain lion was calm,” she mentioned. “I simply stood there in awe of like, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t imagine that is occurring to me.’”
A couple of minutes later, the wild cat started strolling down the steps and took off working when Clean’s canine began barking from inside her residence, Clean mentioned. She then referred to as 911.
Madrey Hilton took video of the animal later Monday morning and alerted authorities, she informed the San Francisco Chronicle.
The mountain lion was discovered Tuesday hiding in a backyard between two residence buildings, San Francisco Hearth Division Lt. Mariano Elias mentioned. Authorities shot the feline with tranquilizers thrice “to ensure it was fully unconscious,” Elias mentioned. “They lined his eyes and sure its paws, simply to ensure it wasn’t going to run anyplace.”
Veterinarians with the San Francisco Zoo then examined the cat earlier than it was positioned in a cage. It should endure additional testing to make sure it’s wholesome after which launched to the wild, Elias mentioned.
An indication warns of mountain lions in a neighborhood on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photograph/Andy Bao)
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An indication warns of mountain lions in a neighborhood on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photograph/Andy Bao)
The two-year-old male cougar was tagged and final noticed in Saratoga, about 50 miles south of San Francisco, he mentioned. Cougars, mountain lions, panthers and pumas are the identical cat species — puma concolor, in line with 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 means again to the wilderness.
Angela Yip, a spokesperson for town’s Animal Care and Management, mentioned there was no menace to the general public.
Mountain lions additionally dwell in Los Angeles, one of many world’s solely megacities of 10 million-plus, the place massive felines thrive by breeding, looking and sustaining territory inside city boundaries.
Carlos Almendarez, who lives along with his household throughout the road from the place the mountain lion was caught in San Francisco, mentioned the wild cat was all everybody was speaking about in his neighborhood, however that didn’t deter him or his working membership from happening a run Tuesday morning.
“It most likely would had been a wiser thought to not go on a run, however we had been in a bunch, so I figured it might be secure,” mentioned Almendarez, who’s from Los Angeles.
“In LA, mountain lions are native celebrities,” he mentioned. “Right here I’ve seen coyotes proper in entrance of the constructing, within the park, on the sidewalk, however I had by no means heard of mountain lions.”
