Cougar beneath house is captured

Crawl spaces are often filled with strange critters. Still, the sight of a mountain lion climbing beneath Silvia Escobar’s Monrovia home shocked her.

The cougar had been prowling around the neighborhood for the last week. Once it was cornered Thursday, officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife tranquilized and removed the big cat.

“We did dart a mountain lion this morning,” Tim Daly, a Fish and Wildlife information officer, said Thursday. “The goal is to check its health and then release it as long as it’s healthy enough to be back in the wild.”

The male cougar had “pretty substantial” neck injuries and was heading to a veterinarian to be examined, Daly said.

“They said it probably had head trauma, and that’s probably why it came down,” Escobar said, referring to the animal’s stroll into town.

Daly said the mountain lion — which was not tagged — may have hailed from the nearby Angeles National Forest.

Escobar said she first learned there was a big cat roaming the area on Tuesday night after returning from a trip to Idaho. Her brother showed her a picture of the mountain lion in his yard, which is attached to hers, and warned her to be careful.

She said she called police after her husband spotted the mountain lion scooting beneath their home Wednesday night.

Monrovia officers weren’t equipped to tranquilize the animal, so she locked her doors, Escobar said, noting that she couldn’t sleep after hearing a growl from beneath her home in the wee hours.

Fish and Wildlife officers arrived Thursday, ready for the big cat. From her bathroom window, Escobar saw the tranquilized animal lying on the ground.

“I almost wanted to touch it, but I was afraid it might wake up,” she said with a laugh.

Authorities think the animal got into the crawl space through an opening along the home’s exterior, she said.

“I hope they don’t come back. I’m sure tonight we’re going to cover up those holes. We don’t want any more surprises,” Escobar said.

Wildlife officials saidmore than half the state is mountain lion habitat. Residents are cautioned to keep an eye on small children and pets and “to limit the attractions” that might encourage the big cats to hang around.