BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers removed a mountain lion from underneath the deck of a home Sunday morning.
The cat was reported around 7:30 a.m. after the family dog alerted them to something under the deck.
The 120-pound young male feline was taken out from beneath the house located at 23rd Street and Panorama Avenue after CPW Wildlife Officer Tyler Asnicar tranquilized him.
Boulder Police Department Animal Protection officers and Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks rangers helped pull the animal out from the tight space just before 10 a.m.
“One factor we look at is location when we get cats that come into town,” Asnicar said. “This one was pretty far east in Boulder in a populated area and it is not a good situation to have a big predator like that close to so many people. It is better for the people and the cat to try to move it. Relocation was our best approach in this case.”
The cat was transported to a remote location in southwest Larimer County and released by 1 p.m., CPW said.
Mountain lions not abnormal in Boulder
CPW said this is the 18th report of a mountain lion in Boulder since Jan. 15 this year. Wildlife officers said there have been several pets taken by young mountain lions over the past few weeks.
“They’ve been spotted a lot in north Boulder. This may or may not have been one of those cats, but increased winter activity is fairly typical as they follow their prey base down, and particularly the mule deer that move into lower elevations this time of year. The cat’s concentration around the western edge of town and that leads to an increase in sightings and probably led to this cat being in town looking for something to eat,” Asnicar said.
Mountain lion sightings/encounters are nothing new for Boulderites, but CPW reminds those living in the area to be aware of their surroundings.
Residents are encouraged to call CPW’s Denver office at 303-291-7227 if during business hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or Colorado State Patrol at 303-239-4501 if outside of normal business hours if they see a mountain lion.