A baby mountain lion was spotted and trapped in a backyard in
northwest Gilroy early Sunday morning, police said.
GILROY
A baby mountain lion was spotted and trapped in a backyard in northwest Gilroy early Sunday morning, police said.
A woman at 8893 Carnation Lane, just off Mantelli Drive, went out back to check on her little white dog’s frantic barking and was startled to spot a 6-month-old lion lazing on the red fence 10 feet away. Scared, the woman scooped up her dog, ran inside and called the police, who responded a few minutes later. Yet, the cat – which police estimated at 40 to 50 pounds and believed to have spent the night previous feasting on dog food – was not bothered by the interaction.
“Sure enough, we go back there and there it is staring at us,” said Cpl. Diana Mora, who was first on the scene.
The cat stayed perched up there while police warned residents of the densely developed area, phoned the state Department of Fish and Game and then brought in an officer with a tranquilizer gun.
“It looked at one point like it was going to take a nap,” Mora said.
Police shot the cat with a tranquilizer and then put it in a cage, which was given to fish and game officials. The officials checked the cat for signs of illness and, having found none, released it about two hours later in a less-developed area. Police did not know where exactly it was released.
Area residents reported their dogs barking throughout Saturday night and missing dog food the next morning. Police believe that the cat spent the night in the tight area behind two rows of two-story houses, snacking on dog food.
The last lion sighting in Gilroy was Sept. 21 when a parent reported seeing a cat in the fields northwest of Las Animas Elementary School. However, the lion was never located and nobody else saw it.
City residents have had a rocky history with lions. Sheriff’s deputies believe them to be responsible to for several livestock attacks in the area, including the death of four goats and three sheep at a house near Cañada Road in August and for a series of attacks in the unincorporated area northeast of Gilroy in June. The latter attacks led to deputies cornering, shooting and killing a lion under the cover of a depredation permit – issued rarely and only if a lion preys on livestock.
The Carnation lion – which was identifiably young because of its spots – was kind of cute at first, Mora said.
“But you know, the minute we stuck it in the cage, it’s claws came out,” she said. “It stopped being cute after I saw its claws.”