Mountain lion in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood released to wild
Mountain lion tranquilized in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood
A 2-year-old male mountain lion was spotted in San Francisco and eluded animal control officers for hours, captivating a human audience, watching online and in person, for more than a day.
SAN FRANCISCO - A young male mountain lion was spotted in San Francisco and eluded animal control officers for hours, while simultaneously captivating a human audience – watching online and in person – for more than a day.
Ultimately, the large cat was tranquilized Tuesday morning, and released back into the wild after Amy Gotliffe, vice president of conservation at The Oakland Zoo, said the animal was healthy and didn't need to receive any medical intervention.
Mountain lion in San Francisco
A mountain lion was tranquilized in San Francisco before heading to the Oakland Zoo. Jan. 27, 2026
What we know:
The 77-pound, 2-year-old mountain lion was first spotted early Monday morning in the Pacific Heights neighborhood and then by Tuesday morning, had wedged itself in a courtyard between two buildings in the 2000 block of California Street between Laguna and Octavia streets.
Just before 10:30 a.m., a Department of Fish and Wildlife officer armed with a tranquilizing gun marched purposefully toward the mountain lion – a rare sight in a bustling city, although there was a mountain lion roaming through Bernal Heights in 2021 and another found sleeping in a planter box downtown in 2020.
A shot rang out shortly afterward and residents watching on a balcony waited with bated breath to see what happened. Armed police officers stood by in case things had gone awry.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the mountain lion was not visible to the public congregating across the street, but officials came out periodically to give updates on the situation, and share photos of the tranquilized animal.
Mountain lion captured in San Francisco: Expert analysis
Amy Gotliffe, Vice President of Conservation at the Oakland Zoo on the 2-year-old mountain lion that was captured in San Franciscos Pacific Heights on Tuesday. Experts say the animal had previously been tagged, likely in Saratoga.
San Francisco Fire Department spokesperson Mariano Elias said the mountain lion had been tagged before. The San Francisco Chronicle identified this mountain lion as 157M, a name given to him by the Puma Project in Santa Cruz.
The Puma Project said this mountain lion was previously collared but that the collar slipped off.
"This is a great ending," he said, noting that no humans and no animals were hurt.
Earlier mountain lion sighting
What they're saying:
Raw video: Mountain lion slinks through San Francisco streets
A young mountain lion is seen in the predawn hours in San Francisco on Monday. Credit to Madrey Hilton.
The young mountain lion was first caught on video early Monday morning near Lafayette Park, which was closed for a while as officials looked to find it.
On Monday, Madrey Hilton told the San Francisco Chronicle she saw the mountain lion on her way to work in the morning.
She was on Sacramento and Gough streets at 6:02 a.m. She said she was able to capture the cat on video before it quickly slunk back into the park.
She also shared her video with KTVU.
"I swear to God, am I tripping? There's a (expletive) mountain lion," Hilton said on the video.
Just then, the video shows the mountain lion running behind a Muni bus stop into the park.
On Monday night, Lindsay Ann Cummings was walking her dog Elvis in the neighborhood, getting ready to drop off food for a patient, when she got out of her car and had an unexpected close encounter.
"The mountain lion was blocking my stairs. I mean, he was three feet from us, and I was looking down and holding my food and I look up and locked eyes with this lion!" Cummings said.
She said she backed into the house, into the garage and got her dog on a leash.
Carrie Roberts said she took precautions when she heard about the big cat in the neighborhood. She locked her doors and kept her dog in to stay safe.
Like most neighbors, she was thrilled to learn that no one, including the mountain lion, was hurt from this close encounter with nature.
"Admittedly, I love wildlife," Roberts said. "So, I was a little excited. Although I was a little bit concerned for the animal since they're not supposed to be in the city, I'm sure it was probably terrified and had no idea how it had gotten here," she laughed.
Mountain lions getting lost
Coyotes are a much more regular appearance in San Francisco than mountain lions.
Alys Granados, a wildlife ecologist with the Bay Area Puma Project, told KQED that mountain lions live in open spaces south of San Francisco.
In recent years, several young cats have ended up in San Francisco after getting lost after getting separated from their mothers between the ages of 1 and 2 years old.
She said the cats are ending up in the city more commonly because there’s less undisturbed habitat down south.
State fish and wildlife department officials said two years is a typical age for young males to leave their mothers.
Other experts say the animals come up along the Pacific Coast from the hills south of the city, but eventually find their way back to the wilderness.