A young mountain lion was spotted prowling the streets of San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood Monday evening, leading several individuals to capture videos and images of the animal.
According to NBC Bay Area, San Francisco Animal Care and Control found the mountain lion around 6:20am on Tuesday. They were working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to manage the situation. A biologist is their way to the scene with plans to tranquilize and move the animal to a suitable location.
Experts believe the mountain lion is about a year old and had most likely gotten lost while trying to move south out of the city. It was spotted earlier on Monday morning near Lafayette Park before being reported Monday night after being seen near Octavia Street and Pacific Avenue.
San Francisco-based Reddit user u/LadyTrady claims to have spotted the mountain lion after being dropped off by a friend on their way home from the bar. They explain that they witnessed the animal trotting down their black and up the steps to a corridor next to their apartement.
An alert from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management went out around 10:18pm on Monday, warning of the animal’s presence. Residents were told to slowly back away and call Animal Control if they spotted the animal, as well as encouraging people to pick up any children and keep dogs on leash.
Mountain lions are native to the San Francisco Bay area, living in District parklands and adjacent open spaces. Sightings in the area, however, are extremely rare as the animals generally avoid and retreat from human contact.
No one was attacked or injured by the mountain lion throughout the evening.
