LION CAPTURED — ROAMED CITY STREETS, BACKYARDS
Residents told to shelter in place while police and wildlife officials searched; animal reportedly was never ‘aggressive’
SAN MATEO » A mountain lion that roamed the streets and backyards of a hilly San Mateo neighborhood was tranquilized by a wildlife official Monday several hours after it was first spotted, according to police
San Mateo police Sgt. Amanda Von Glahn said the lion, which weighs about 75 to 80 pounds, was sedated at around
2:29 p.m. It later was to be transferred to the wilderness area from which it likely came.
According to initial police reports, the animal wasn’t “acting aggressive” and officers quickly established a “moving perimeter” around it.
A portion of Alameda de las Pulgas was closed off for roughly five hours and residents in a mile-wide area were told to shelter in place by texts, phone calls and
door-to-door visits.
St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church, located near the intersection of Alameda de las Pulgas and Crystal Springs Road, was holding summer camp and placed on lockdown, Von Glahn said.
Police first reported the animal was seen at about 9:35 a.m. walking into the backyard of a residence on the 500 block of Virginia Avenue near Alameda de las Pulgas.
The witnesses reported that the mountain lion never acted predatory or aggressive, police said.
Von Glahn later confirmed the animal was actually first spotted in a driveway on the 300 block of Alameda and must have used the roadway to get to the Virginia Avenue backyard, later moving to the 600 block of Parrot Drive and then the 300 block of Jackson Street.
“It's a little odd for them to be down here in the middle of the day; usually they get spooked and leave,” she said.
Fran Shipley, near whose home a California Department of Fish and Wildlife warden subdued the lion, was inside her garage preparing for a weekend garage sale, oblivious to all the commotion. She had the garage door open and at one point stepped out of the garage when officers rang her front door bell.
“It had to have gone right by the garage on its way into the bushes,” Shipley said, noting she's never heard of anyone seeing a mountain lion in that area in the 50 years she has lived there. “We see deer all the time, though.”
Police Chief Susan Manheimer said the incident was only the second such one in the past three years.
A cougar was also detained, tranquilized and released in 2015 after being found near Central Park, she said. Both animals are being tracked by the Bay Area Puma Project.
Manheimer credited her officers and Fish and Wildlife officials for no one being hurt and safely rescuing the cougar.
“There were several moments where lives (of officials) were in danger,” she said.
Contact Kevin Kelly at 650-391-1049 and Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869.