Early Wednesday morning, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) returned a young mountain lion to its natural habitat after it went viral wandering the busy streets of San Francisco.
CDFW wildlife officers first responded to reports of mountain lion sightings in the Pacific Heights neighborhood earlier this week, locating the animal in a narrow space between buildings on Tuesday. With no clear pathways out of the area on its own, CDFW decided human intervention would be the best way to get the large cat out of the difficult situation.
Wildlife biologists and San Francisco Zoo veterinarians were brought to the scene, chemically immobilizing the animal for save capture and transport. During a health evaluation the cat was noted as a healthy male weighing 77 pounds and estimated to be around 2 years old. It was fitted with a GPS tracking collar as part of the U.C. Santa Cruz Puma Project as well.
The mountain lion was released into a suitable habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and area spanning more than 1,000 square miles. Any mountain lion sightings and encounters in California should be reported to the Wildlife Incident Reporting System at https://apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir.
