San Francisco residents discovered a wayward mountain lion prowling in the city’s busy Bernal Heights neighborhood, a long way from its usual home in the wide green areas.
One eyewitness reported seeing the animal while a home security video captured footage of the creature between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Deb Campbell, a San Francisco Animal Care and Control spokesperson, said sightings of cougars in the area were not uncommon. However, she said that most reports turned out to be pet cats.
Mountain Lion Sighting
“If we hadn’t seen him on that video, we might have thought it was a big healthy house cat that the eyewitness saw,” Campbell said. She added the creature was relatively large and could have been an adult. The mountain lion that made its way to Mission Bay last year was only a teenager.
“Lockdown is over. Maybe he was looking for some nightlife, didn’t find any, and went back home,” Campbell jokingly said. Experts said the creature’s home was somewhere around the South Bay in the Crystal Springs area.
Officials said the trek would have been a stressful activity for the mountain lion because they are naturally reclusive. This could also explain why not many people saw the animal as it passed by city streets in daylight or dusk hours.
“They are shy, they keep to themselves. We have more mountain lion visitors than we actually find out about,” Campbell said, the San Francisco Gate reported.
The Animal Care and Control sent out patrols to survey the area where the creature was sighted to discover more evidence. Campbell said it was possible that the animal has already gone out of the city but urged residents to take necessary safety precautions in case it was still lurking about.
