Community Corner
Watch: Mountain Lion Released after Wandering into School
A mountain lion is doing well since it was released into the wild after wandering onto campus at a Granada Hills high school.
LOS ANGELES, CA A mountain lion who made his way onto the campus of a high school in Granada Hills was back in the wild today.
Callers began reporting seeing the big cat -- later determined to be a healthy 110-pound male who is at least 3 years old -- between 7 and 9 a.m. Friday, causing school officials to lock down the campus of John F. Kennedy High School in the 11200 block of Gothic Avenue, said Andrew Hughan of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The school's mascot happens to be a cougar.
Find out what's happening in North Hollywood-Toluca Lakefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Granada Hills lion a little groggy but walking away at 4:15 this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/ZmdtEPY9RK
— Cal Fish & Wildlife (@CaliforniaDFW) April 16, 2016
Los Angeles police officers arrived and cordoned off the area before game wardens got to the scene about an hour later and shot the animal with tranquilizers.
Find out what's happening in North Hollywood-Toluca Lakefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The woozy lion then wobbled to a halt in a nearby yard before it was taken away in a truck at around 1 p.m.
The mountain lion, which was not tagged or known to fish and game officials, was tagged and released into the Santa Susana Mountains, Hughan said.
He said the creature had crossed through the Knollwood golf course -- likely pursuing a meal of rabbit, deer or even a dog -- and ended up well into a residential area.
"That's typically what happens in (these situations)," Hughan said.
City News Service; Photos Courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.