Hurt Cougar Found in Valencia Yard Sent to Refuge

An injured and undernourished mountain lion leaped into a Valencia woman’s back yard Friday and was captured and transported to a refuge for wild animals in Angeles National Forest.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Hubbs said Bobbie McDonald reported encountering the lion in the yard of her house in the 25900 block of Sandalia Drive early Friday.

Deputies and officers from the Castaic Animal Shelter found the lion in the woman’s garage. The lion was shot with a tranquilizer dart and taken to the Wildlife Waystation in Little Tujunga Canyon.

John Rozier, manager of the animal shelter, said the lion appeared to be dehydrated and that its jaw and its right hind paw were injured. Rozier estimated the male lion’s weight to be about 70 pounds, compared with a normal weight of more than 100 pounds.

Martine Colette, director of the refuge, said the right side of the lion’s jaw was shattered and that the flesh of one of its toes had been ripped off. She said the paw may have been caught in a trap but that the jaw injury appeared to have been caused by a blow.

Colette said the jaw injury may be too serious to treat, meaning that the lion might have to be destroyed. State Fish and Game officials will decide after doing further tests, she said.

Mark Palmer of the Mountain Lion Preservation Foundation in Sacramento said more wild animals have been venturing into residential areas because of the drought.