The mountain lion that was seen prowling around the busy city streets in broad daylight has been captured by animal experts on Wednesday night in San Francisco and is currently being treated at the Oakland Zoo.
San Francisco residents witnessed a mountain lion passing through the region in the last two days and have been on edge for the potential dangers. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the captured animal was the same creature that visited several parts of the city, based on the data from the puma’s radio collar.
Moutain Lion on the Prowl
Officials discovered the mountain lion in a tree on Santa Marina and Mission streets on the west side of Bernal Heights. The creature was about two blocks away from Holly Park, the San Francisco Animal Care and Control said.
The organization was the first to arrive at the scene and captured images of the animal on the tree and shared them on social media. Capt. Amy Corso worked with the San Francisco Police Department to make a perimeter around the area and prevent bystanders from getting too close.
Later on, the Fish and Wildlife had officers on the scene who used a tranquilizer dart on the animal to make it safe for transport. Officials waited for the creature to become woozy and fall asleep on the front porch of a nearby residence before capturing it.
A resident couple, Ken Shelf and his wife, was walking along the neighborhood when they spotted wildlife officers and their vehicles.
“We stopped and somewhat kiddingly asked them if they were out looking for the lion and they told us yes, it was currently in the tree. I felt frightened, but also somewhat giddy to have the worlds collide in this fashion, a beautiful beast like that, living in the wild, yet wandering the city at night, looking for something to do, and possibly a bite to eat – just like the rest of us,” Shelf said.
“The sedated lion was taken to the Oakland Zoo for evaluation and will probably be released in a more suitable location later today,” Animal Care and Control spokesperson Deb Campbell said, the San Francisco Gate reported.
