Cougar in the fast lane




SURPRISE MOVE—A passenger’s cellphone caught this picture of the mountain lion darting in front.

SURPRISE MOVE—A passenger’s cellphone caught this picture of the mountain lion darting in front.

The National Parks Service said a mountain lion recently sighted in Hidden Valley is not one of the animals they’ve been tracking in their scientific study of the big cats.

The mountain lion was captured on camera by a family driving in the area the evening of June 11.

Lonna Neet said she, her husband and her daughter were leaving a friend’s Hidden Valley home off Potrero Road late in the day when the daughter saw something out the car window that caught her eye.

“We were pulling out the driveway . . . we looked to the right and there was a mountain lion hanging out in the bushes,” Neet said. “We stopped the car and it (the cougar) looked us right in the eye. Then it took off in front of our car and went up the hill.”

The daughter quickly activated her phone camera and recorded a video that shows the animal leaping through the bushes, running in front of the car, crossing the street and bounding up a hill.

It appeared the animal was only a few feet away, the mother said.

Kate Kuykendall, a spokesperson for NPS said sightings like these are not unusual.

“It’s active mountain lion country,” she said. “They cover so much ground.”

Kuykendall would not rule out capturing the animal in the future and tagging it.

“We would be interested,” she said. “We greatly appreciate it when the public shares these sightings with us so that we can better understand what uncollared mountain lions are out there.”

Despite the encounter, Neet said, she’s not afraid to continue living on nature’s edge.

“ I think people forget (they’re out there). They know there’s snakes and other animals, but they need to remember we’re living where they live,” Neet said. “They’re probably coming down from the hills hungry or thirsty—it’s all nature back there.”