Video: Mountain lion released to Santa Cruz mountains

Mountain lion released to Santa Cruz mountains

The young mountain lion seen wandering in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco is back in the wild. The Department of Fish and Wildlife shared this video of the big cat being released in the Santa Cruz Mountains

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The young mountain lion seen wandering in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco is back in the wild.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife shared this video of the big cat being released in the Santa Cruz Mountains early Wednesday morning. 

Wildlife experts found the puma wedged next to a building on California Street Tuesday after a number of sightings. They used a tranquilizer to sedate the 2-year-old male.

"This was a super rare occurrence," said Alys Granados, a wildlife ecologist with the Bay Area Puma Project. "The last time this happened in 2020, another young lion as well. The reason why is that there’s not enough undisturbed land for these animals left. "

Vets say the big cat weighs about 77 pounds and is in good health. He was fitted with a GPS tracking collar as part of the Puma Project.