Mountain lion found lounging in Pasadena captured by wildlife officials

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The Pasadena community was on high alert Friday after a mountain lion was spotted lounging near an elementary and middle school and a packed graduation ceremony, officials said.The Pasadena Police Department received a call around 11 a.m.

that a puma was in the front yard of an apartment complex at Del Mar Boulevard and Euclid Avenue, prompting shelter-in-place warnings for residents in the immediate area, according to city spokesperson Lisa Derderian.Wildlife officials captured the cat later that afternoon, and biologists determined it was a young and healthy male, according to a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

It will be released into the nearest suitable habitat in the Angeles National Forest, the spokesperson said.California Wildlife officials successfully tranquilized a mountain lion that was spotted roaming in a front yard in Santa Monica, following several tense hours where residents were warned to stay indoors.The incident has left city officials scratching their heads as to how the creature crossed the 210 Freeway and decided to plop down in a heavily populated residential area surrounded by major streets.

In the Los Angeles area alone, 32 mountain lions have been struck and killed by vehicles since 2002, according to the National Park Service.“This is very, very rare,” said Derderian, “and the fact that it was not injured is miraculous.”Even more baffling is the fact that just one week ago a mountain lion was found in a residential area of Santa Monica, which similarly prompted shelter-in-place warnings for people living nearby.That lion was also successfully tranquilized without any injuries.

“It does appear to be a coincidence that two similar occurrences happened in corresponding weeks and this was not the mountain lion that was in Santa Monica last week,” a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said.California A mountain li...