A mountain lion is on the move in Mission Viejo, prompting patrols. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News on Dec. 15, 2022.
Panther pride is on full display at Newhart Middle School in Mission Viejo, in Southern California, where a giant mural of the fearsome feline mascot adorns the school's exterior.
So when another type of big cat got too close to the school Thursday, authorities had to make it clear -- this is panther territory.
The school in the vicinity of several wilderness areas and green spaces was locked down as a precaution Thursday due to a mountain lion that was sighted by residents at several locations in the southeast Orange County community, where big cat sighting aren't all that rare.
Authorities also were on patrol in the Pacific Hills neighborhood.
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By nightfall, it appeared the mountain lion caught on several security cameras was just doing mountain lion things as it strutted across patios and through backyards.
"Hasn't approached people or animals," said Kyle Werner, supervisor of Mission Viejo Animal Services. "It's just doing normal behavior. Looked like it was chasing a small rodent… which is fairly normal. It hasn't shown any aggressive behavior."
The sighting comes days after the capture of Southern California's most famous mountain lion, P-22. Wildlife officials announced they planned to capture P-22 to assess the aging mountain lion's health.
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Researchers believe P-22 came from the Santa Monica Mountains. He somehow crossed the 405 and 101 freeways into Griffith Park about 10 years ago. Silver Lake is between Griffith Park and downtown Los Angeles.
He was captured in a Los Feliz backyard.
There are about 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions in California, but wildlife officials call that a crude estimate without an ongoing statewide study. More than half of the state is considered prime habitat for the big cats, which can be found wherever deer are present.
