Mountain lions spotted Sunday in area of Dana Drive
February 18, 2009
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Residents of Dana Drive west of 6th Street had unexpected company Sunday when mountain lions - described by witnesses as a mother, two cubs and an adolescent - were seen strolling through the neighborhood.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesResidents of Dana Drive west of 6th Street had unexpected company Sunday when mountain lions - described by witnesses as a mother, two cubs and an adolescent - were seen strolling through the neighborhood. The Santa Paula Police Department issued a REVERSE 911® advisory at approximately 2:30 p.m. on February 15, alerting residents living in the area of the situation.According to City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, the lions had apparently returned to the hills as of nightfall. SPPD officers and the State Department of Fish and Game worked throughout Sunday to try to capture the lions, which would be returned to the wild, and continued to monitor the situation Monday. Residents were warned to keep children and pets inside, and not to approach the mountain lions if they saw them again in the neighborhood.
SPPD Senior Officer Cody Madison said Monday that the last he heard of a mountain lion being spotted in a city residential area was about a decade ago. Sunday’s sighting is considered unusual: “Fish and Game is going to call in a specialist based on the age of the lions,” as it is obvious the mother and the juvenile lion, both believed to be female, cannot be mother and daughter. “They feel it’s a little unusual... and obviously they want to relocate them.”Madison noted there have been no further reports of mountain lion sightings since yesterday. “They’re probably all hunkered down because of the rain and won’t be out and about,” including the two cubs that Madison said wildlife officials are “guessing are about one month old,” and witnesses said “they were almost like kittens... but bigger.”