A wayward mountain lion seen prowling the streets of a posh San Francisco neighborhood was captured by animal control workers Tuesday morning after getting cornered between two buildings.
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
The young cat, which was captured video near Lafayette Park on Monday night, had been hiding in a courtyard between a pair of apartment buildings on California Street, KRON reported.
The young mountain lion was spotted prowling the streets in San Francisco overnight Sunday, Jan. 25. Madrey Hilton
A wayward mountain lion seen prowling the streets of a posh San Francisco neighborhood was captured by animal control workers Tuesday morning. AP
Just before 10:30 a.m., a California Fish and Wildlife officer carrying a tranquilizer gun entered an apartment building at California and Octavia streets where the lion had been hiding. A shot rang out shortly after, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Fire Department spokesperson Mariano Elias told reporters that the tranquilizer could take up to 15 minutes to fully take effect. AP
Experts believe the mountain lion is about a year old, and got lost. Mountain lions disperse around this age, seeking a habitat far away from their birth place. Reddit/LadyTradyFire Department spokesperson Mariano Elias told reporters that the tranquilizer could take up to 15 minutes to fully take effect.
California Fish and Wildlife officials carry the tranquilized mountain lion in a cage after it was captured. AP
An officer of San Francisco Animal Care & Control on scene near Lafayette Park, on Tuesday morning. AP“The animal is still moving a bit, so they’re waiting,” he told the Chronicle.
The approximately one-year-old cougar was first spotted near Pacific Avenue and Octavia Street on Monday.
Police block a street during a search for a mountain lion in a neighborhood Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in San Francisco. AP“It’s likely that the mountain lion got lost while dispersing, is confused, and will soon find its way south and out of San Francisco,” officials said in an Instagram post.
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Residents who reported seeing the beast were mostly shocked by the experience.
“Early this morning while getting dropped off by a friend I witnessed a majestic mountain lion trotting down my block and up the steps to a corridor next to my apartment,” someone wrote on Reddit.
“It was HUGE!”
