Mountain Lion Sighting Prompts Warning

A mountain lion has been sighted in a residential neighborhood near the base of the Santa Susana Mountains, prompting authorities Saturday to warn homeowners to protect their pets from possible attack.

Residents should cover garbage cans and move pet food and pets indoors at night to avoid attracting wild animals, said Lt. Keith Kramer of the city Animal Regulation Department’s West Valley Shelter in Chatsworth.

“The most common reason for them to come into a residential neighborhood is that they are looking for food or water and may have found a pet, squirrel, rabbit or opossum,” Kramer said.

Animal control officers were prompted to issue the warning after they received a call Thursday from a resident who said he saw a mountain lion clawing a tree outside his house on Fairland Court, Kramer said. The man told animal control officers that he startled the cat and it ran into nearby foothills.

“Reports of people being attacked or killed by mountain lions are rare, because humans are not their natural prey,” Kramer said. Still, he said, “if a person spots a mountain lion, they should stay a safe distance away and call the Animal Regulation Department.”