It was a really wild morning at one California high school Wednesday as a very young mountain lion made its way inside a high school, but was safely removed without injuries to anyone — not even the cat.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office reported the big cat at Pescadero High School after entering the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District grounds at 9:18 a.m.
It didn’t take long for U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers to leap into action in the small coastal town about 50 kilometres (35 miles) south of San Francisco. Nobody at the school was ever in any dangers, officials said.
“The mountain Lion has been safely removed from Pescadero High School by @CaliforniaDFW It is believed to be a male approximately 4-6 months old,” police said in a social media post. “It will be transported to Oakland Zoo for a health assessment.”
Nobody was hurt during the unusual encounter with wildlife.
One person even took a photo of the big cat through a window.
its true i was there🤷♀️ pic.twitter.com/ehvyOdSsri
— darlene (@DarlaXoxo2) June 1, 2022
The Oakland Zoo took in the young cat — the second young mountain lion to be rescued in the area in the last few months.
The zoo said this cat is a 6- to 8-month-old male.
We just received another rescued mountain lion. This 6-8 month old male was discovered at Pescadero High School. (Students and staff were safe and had been dismissed from school at the time).
— Oakland Zoo (@oakzoo) June 2, 2022
(thread) pic.twitter.com/fo5ZSXO0HT
And he’s not in the best shape — and just like the other young cougar, named Rose, too young to ever be returned to the wild.
“Here at our veterinary hospital, Dr. Herman and her team examined the mountain lion. He has a badly fractured tooth that will need to be extracted,” the zoo said.
“Like Rose, this mountain lion is sadly too young to be able to survive on his own in the wild. He will be placed at an accredited zoo, under the discretion of Oakland Zoo and California Fish & Wildlife,” the zoo added. “Until then, we will take care of him here.”
And in case you’re wondering about Rose. That cat is really on the mend and on the prowl for a new home, too.
Rose 🌹 CUBdate #VetTales Friday
— Oakland Zoo (@oakzoo) May 27, 2022
This tough rescue keeps improving – gaining weight and becoming more calm & curious.
Because Rose will be with us longer before moving to a forever home, she’ll be moving up to CA Trail to a new holding area next to our resident mtn lions. pic.twitter.com/JnffvYKgM0