Jan. 27 (UPI) — Wildlife authorities in California said they successfully tranquilized and captured a young mountain lion seen wandering the streets of San Francisco.
Crews from San Francisco Animal Care and Control and California Fish & Wildlife responded to the Pacific Heights neighborhood on Tuesday when the big cat was seen near an apartment building.
They were able to corner the cougar in a narrow area between two buildings and tranquilize the animal.
The mountain lion was first spotted near Lafayette Park on Sunday and further sightings were reported Monday.
Roxanne Blank captured video of her encounter with the mountain lion outside of her apartment building.
“We locked eyes for over five minutes,” Blank told KABC-TV. “I was actually really honored that the mountain lion didn’t eat me and we just had this nice long gaze into each other’s souls.”
Authorities said then mountain lion, estimated to be about 2 years old, will be examined by a veterinarian at the Oakland Zoo and officials will then determine how and when it will be returned to the wild.
