Mountain lion makes back-to-back visits to backyard in San Mateo

A mountain lion’s peaceful early Saturday morning stroll through a San Mateo backyard was captured on a resident’s security camera.

The video was taken at about 6:45 a.m. at a backyard in the 4100 block of Alameda de las Pulgas and was shared by the San Mateo Police Department. It shows the big cat walking through the backyard, sniffing some plants before deciding to go up what appears to be wooden stairs to a back deck.

This is apparently the mountain lion’s second visit to the neighborhood; video shows it entering the yard at about 10:02 p.m. the previous night.

Officers looked for the big cat, but couldn’t find him in the area. This is not the first time a mountain lion has decided to take a walk around San Mateo. On July 27, a mountain lion was spotted by a patrol at the College of San Mateo in the police academy parking lot. The cat ran away as soon as it spotted the officers.

On April 20, a mountain lion was caught “jaywalking” at the intersection of West Poplar Avenue and North El Camino Real. That cat once again ran away and officers were unable to find it.

The police department advised people to not feed deers, which is illegal in California, and can attract mountain lions. They should also avoid hiking or jogging through wooded areas at dusk, dawn or at night when the cats are most active.

If they spot a mountain lion, people are advised not to approach — particularly not if the cat is feeding or taking care of some cubs — and instead pick up any small children, face the animal and make noise and try to appear bigger by waving their arms.

For more information about mountain lions, go to keepmewild.org and wildlife.ca.gov/.