A young mountain lion took a tour of one of San Francisco's priciest neighborhoods this week, prompting a multi-agency response and a warning for residents to be cautious outdoors. San Francisco Animal Care and Control said the big cat, believed to be about a year old, was first seen early Monday near Lafayette Park in Pacific Heights and was spotted again Monday night, KTVU reports. Officials say it was captured Tuesday morning after an hourslong standoff in Pacific Heights, reports SFGate. It was cornered in a space between two buildings and police officers were seen firing tranquilizers at the mountain lion from the fire escape of one of the buildings.
After the tranquilizers kicked in, the 77-pound male mountain lion was removed from the area in a metal cage. San Francisco Fire Department Lt. Mariano Elías says that after a health evaluation, the animal will be released into its natural habitat. Mountain lion sightings are rare but not unheard of in the city, the AP reports. In 2020, a young mountain lion was captured near Oracle Park and released into the wild.
Pacific Heights resident Roxanne Blank tells SFGate that she saw the "majestic" animal on the front steps of her apartment building. "At first, I thought it was a dog, but I realized with a long tail, it's got to be something else," says Blank, who called 911 when she realized it was a mountain lion. "In the morning, reality set in, and it was very sobering, because I saw the scratch marks on the ground," she says. "That's when I was like 'Oh wow, that was a big kitty, and those claw marks are huge.'"
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
