Wandering Mountain Lion Found in L.A.

Wandering Mountain Lion Found in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A mountain lion that wandered into an Altadena neighborhood was tranquilized Monday and removed by authorities, a state wildlife official said.

The lion was first spotted around 7 a.m. after ambling a mile and a half from Angeles National Forest, California Department of Fish and Game spokesman Steve Martarano said.

No one was attacked, but a nearby elementary school was placed on lockdown.

The 2-year-old, 65-pound male cat slept beneath bushes at one point before ducking into a backyard, where a Fish and Game department official shot it with a tranquilizer blow dart, Martarano said.

"It tried to run away, and then it just pooped out" next to a row of trash cans, he said.

Fish and Game officials removed the sedated cat in a blanket to transport it by truck back to the forest.

"There have only been 15 attacks on humans, by about 13 lions, since 1890," Martarano said. "They're pretty rare. People aren't their primary prey, thankfully."


California Department of Fish and Game officers examine a tranquilized mountain lion Monday, Feb. 27, 2006, that wandered into the backyard of a home in the residential community of Altadena, Calif. The 2-year-old, 65-pound male mountain lion was removed in a blanket to be transported by truck back to the Angeles National Forest. No one was attacked, but a nearby elementary school was placed on lockdown.