The Pasadena community was on high alert Friday after a mountain lion was spotted lounging near an elementary and middle school and a packed graduation ceremony, officials said.
The Pasadena Police Department received a call around 11 a.m. that a puma was in the front yard of an apartment complex at Del Mar Boulevard and Euclid Avenue, prompting shelter-in-place warnings for residents in the immediate area, according to city spokesperson Lisa Derderian.
Wildlife officials captured the cat later that afternoon, and biologists determined it was a young and healthy male, according to a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It will be released into the nearest suitable habitat in the Angeles National Forest, the spokesperson said.
The incident has left city officials scratching their heads as to how the creature crossed the 210 Freeway and decided to plop down in a heavily populated residential area surrounded by major streets. In the Los Angeles area alone, 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles since 2002, according to the National Park Service.
“This is very, very rare,” said Derderian, “and the fact that it was not injured is miraculous.”
Even more baffling is the fact that just one week ago a mountain lion was found in a residential area of Santa Monica, which similarly prompted shelter-in-place warnings for people living nearby. That lion was also successfully tranquilized without any injuries.
“It does appear to be a coincidence that two similar occurrences happened in corresponding weeks and this was not the mountain lion that was in Santa Monica last week,” a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said.
There were also two mountain lion sightings reported in Pasedena in May. However, in both of those instances, the animal moved on quickly and was not captured by wildlife officials.
At the time, Kevin McManus with Pasadena Humane told ABC7 News that mountain lion sightings in the city are “extremely rare,” but noted that last year’s wildfires could be pushing cats further into residential areas.
“The Eaton fire had massive, devastating effects, not too far away from the cougar’s natural habitat, so it’s very possible they’re here looking for food, water and shelter,” he told the station.
Communities in the San Gabriel foothills also saw an uptick in bear sightings in the aftermath of the fire, which charred a sizable chunk of the bruins’ nearby habitat.
The Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said people can help avoid attracting more wildlife into urban areas by removing attractants from their homes. This includes things such as unsecured garbage cans, fallen fruit, bird feeders, pet food left outside and uncleaned grills.
“All of those could produce smells that would attract wild animals like mountain lions, bears or coyotes,” the spokesperson said.
People living near mountain lion habitat can also decrease their risk of an encounter by avoiding outdoor exercise at dawn, dusk or night, keeping pets inside at night, removing dense vegetation from around their homes and installing outdoor lighting to make it difficult for mountain lions to approach unseen.
In the rare instance that members of the public encounter a mountain lion, they are advised to avoid running and instead make themselves appear larger by extending and waving their arms while backing away slowly, according to Fish and Wildlife.
Mountain lions can be found in wilderness areas near Pasadena such as the Angeles National Forest and Arroyo Seco. The National Park Service also estimates that there are about 10 to 15 mountain lions living in the Santa Monica Mountains at any given time.
In California, the cats’ population faces several threats — including human encroachment, loss of habitat and prey due to wildfires, rat poison, disease and vehicle collisions. Earlier this year, the California Fish and Game Commission granted threatened species status to six mountain lion populations to try to boost their chances of survival.
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