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Mountain Lion Sighting Raises Ruckus on Peninsula Even residential areas not immune to mountain lion sightings

Updated 4:32 PM PDT, Tue, Nov 11, 2008

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(Photo by Mike Simons/Getty Images)

 

San Mateo County, even the part of it that is home to humans, is mountain lion country.

The California Department of Fish and Game had to be called out after a driver spotted a mountain lion running in a residential neighborhood in San Mateo on Tuesday.   

The driver saw the lion running near 31st Avenue and Fair Oaks Court near Hillsdale and Highway 92. The animal then jumped into a backyard.

By the time fish and game officers arrived the lion had disappeared.

A broad daylight sighting of the carnivorous cat in the area is unusual, San Mateo police Lt. Mike  Brunicardi said said.

"To have a sighting at this time of day, right before 1 p.m., is extremely rare," Brunicardi said. "The last sightings we had in San Mateo in the first week of October were at dawn or dusk or in middle of the night, which is when they're normally out and active."

San Mateo police said it is a warning to never leave pet food outside your home and install motion detector lights.

An alert was sent out to residents via telephone, Brunicardi said.

The last reported mountain lion sightings were in the northwest region of the city in early October.

The hilly, open space areas of San Mateo County are known as mountain lion habitats, and mountain lions generally exist where deer are found, Brunicardi said.

Residents are advised to take extra precautions when outside, including avoiding feeding deer, installing motion-sensitive lighting and avoiding leaving pet food or bowls of water outside.
If confronted by a mountain lion, residents should not run or turn their backs on the animal. They should make eye contact but not squat down; make noise and appear as large as possible; and throw objects at the animal or fight back if it attacks.

Copyright Bay City News / NBC Bay Area

Comments (10)

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  • Carlos Thursday, Nov 13 at 2:28 PM FLAG COMMENT Mountain Lions are everywhere!! I.ve been an avid hiker in the Bay Area for 20 years and have not had the pleasure of seeing one myself. But no doubt they have seen me. You are 100 times more likely to get attacked by a pitbull walking down the street than you are by a mountain lion hiking in the woods. And as for this guy who says he saw one in the middle of the day? BS !! He was either trying to get in the paper or saw a ... MORE >
  • eat or be eaten Wednesday, Nov 12 at 9:15 AM FLAG COMMENT This problem is only going to get worse until Californians decide to resume the tradition of cat hunting...unleash the hounds and the rounds
  • Me Tuesday, Nov 11 at 11:36 PM FLAG COMMENT Meow
  • J Tuesday, Nov 11 at 11:35 PM FLAG COMMENT I'll let them be where they belong -- deep in the woods
  • Mountain Lion Tuesday, Nov 11 at 11:32 PM FLAG COMMENT If we let them be, where are you going to go to?

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