A mountain lion spotted prowling in a residential area of San Francisco prompted safety warnings for residents, with concern children and pets could be at particular risk.
Local woman Madrey Hilton spotted the lion around 6 am on Monday as she left for work, and recorded a video from her car at the scene on Sacramento and Gough streets.
“It was so big… not just a regular cat,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that it “just looked like it was minding its own business.”
The lion, which avoided a few cars with headlights, crossed the street and headed into nearby Lafayette Park, a hilly 12-acre park in the Pacific Heights neighborhood.
Hilton initially shared her footage on the social network Nextdoor and then alerted city wildlife authorities, who identified the cat as a “subadult mountain lion” likely around a year old.
Park rangers, animal control officers and staff from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife headed to the park later on Monday, but were unable to find any sign of it; Animal Care & Control San Francisco announced early Tuesday that the mountain lion had been located, reported the Chronicle, although they did not initially say where, or whether it had been caught.
In an earlier Facebook post, the agency had urged residents to “remain vigilant” and use caution when outdoors, saying mountain lions should be given a “wide berth”, and rangers were at the park to warn locals.
Residents at Lafayette Park seemed unperturbed late Monday afternoon, with some throwing balls to their dogs and pushing small children on swings in the playground, the Chronicle reported.
“It feels like it would be more scared of us,” said Ben Lawson, who had been playing with his 16-month-old son Will and was unconcerned about encountering the big cat. “It would be so rare.”
Fellow resident Chris Hill, who was at the park with his dogs, was likewise unconcerned, although he said he’d rather his pets didn’t tangle with a wild beast.
“I have 180 pounds worth of dog with me,” he told the Chronicle. “I still don’t want them to get mauled.”
Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare, with just a few dozen fatalities recorded across North America over the past 150 years, many of whom were children. Mountain lions, which are also known as pumas or panthers, typically do not regard people as prey.
The most recent related death was in Colorado in January, when a group of hikers noticed a mountain lion near the body of a woman on the Crosier Mountain trail. The victim was later identified as Kristen Marie Kovatch, 46.
Two years earlier, 21-year-old Taylen Robert Claude Brooks was killed in a mountain lion attack in California’s El Dorado County in March 2024; his 18-year-old brother was also injured.
The majority of documented mountain lion attacks - around three-quarters - have not resulted in human fatalities.
In one famous incident in February 2019, Colorado trail runner Travis Kauffman fought back when he was attacked by a mountain lion and killed it with his bare hands.
Kauffman, who was left with minor scars, was nonchalant about the encounter when he told The Colorado Sun a few months later that he still ran on the same track: “It’s one of those things where time has passed and it’s become a distant memory and everything has returned to normal.”
Animal Care & Control San Francisco said anyone who saw a mountain lion should not approach it, but instead back away without running.
“If you have a child with you - pick them up - and keep dogs on leash. If the mountain lion approaches - make yourself 'big' wave your arms, shout, throw something, and again, do not run.”
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on where the San Francisco mountain lion had been found.
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