Mountain Lion Sedated and Captured Close to Santa Rosa In a single day – CBS San Francisco

SONOMA COUNTY (CBS SF) – Santa Rosa police said Wednesday a mountain lion was found and captured after being sedated by wildlife experts outside a home in the Rincon Valley on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Santa Rosa Police Department posted information on their social media accounts, as well as photos of the mountain lion spotted late Tuesday.

Mountain lion sighting and trapping by local non-profit organizations

A mountain lion was found in a Rincon Valley last night. SRPD officials worked with local wildlife experts / nonprofits who sedated him and took him for medical treatment. The mountain lion is recovering in a local game reserve pic.twitter.com/g8Fo9vjGRW

– Santa Rosa Police (@SantaRosaPolice) October 27, 2021

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At around 10 p.m., officials in the St. Francis Road and De Soto Drive area called for reports of a mountain lion sighting. When the officers arrived on site, they found a young mountain lion in the front yard of a residential building.

The mountain lion refused to move or leave the area despite several patrol cars glowing lights and making noise, police said. The mountain eventually began to move slowly but appeared to be injured or sick.

Officers stayed on site for nearly three hours while waiting for wildlife resources, during which time the mountain lion moved into the neighboring yard.

Police worked with local wildlife experts from several nonprofits – Sonoma Wildlife Rescue and True Wild – and an additional veterinarian, all of whom responded to the scene – as well as fish and wildlife officials. A tranquilizer dart was used by veterinarians to calm the mountain lion.

Experts from True Wild and Sonoma Wildlife Rescue took the mountain lion to a local wildlife sanctuary for observation. They said the mountain lion was a very young man, weighing about 45 pounds. It showed no obvious signs of injury or illness.

Wildlife experts planned to watch the mountain lion and conduct medical tests before determining the best course of action for the animal. The mountain lion has been in her care since Wednesday morning, he is doing well and is doing better. No additional information was available about the mountain lion’s potential medical problems.

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Mountain lion sightings in the Bay Area have increased in recent months. Just last week, a wayward mountain lion instigated a lockdown in two Rohnert Park middle schools before being drugged and removed from the area.

Mountain lions have been caught in the shadow of surveillance cameras in Millbrae. A handful of residents in Oakland Hills and Piedmont said they saw mutilated deer carcasses in their neighborhood. One wildcat was even caught in a tree in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood and transported to the Oakland Zoo, while another broke into a San Bruno home full of wildlife trophies.

More than half of the state is Mountain Lion Territory, and it’s not uncommon for them to show up in unexpected places, according to officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The species usually migrates during the dry season in search of plenty of food and water, but it could travel further than usual as drought conditions increase and deer population declines, department spokesman Ken Paglia said.

“Be aware that we share the state with other wildlife, like mountain lions or bears, they are nearby,” said Paglia. “While they can be potentially dangerous, they are usually in the city looking for food resources and not there to harm us.”

Despite recent sightings, it is rare for a mountain lion to be attacked.

“We want to make sure the public is safe, but we also want the animal to live its life in its own habitat. That is probably the best solution, ”said Paglia.

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Installing motion center lights around the property, keeping pets indoors at night, and storing food appropriately are some of the ways residents can avoid encounters with mountain lions. You can find more tips and tricks from the Mountain Lion Foundation online.