Mountain Lion Found Under Deck 'Deep In The Heart' Of Denver Area
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - A mountain lion was relocated in Colorado after being found under the deck of a home in the central part of the Denver metro area. Wildlife officers tranquilized the animal in Englewood on Thursday night and released it in an unpopulated part of Douglas County Friday morning.
Matt Martinez, a manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife, said they "chose to go hands on" with the animal and tranquilize it because it was "so deep in the heart of the city." Following getting darted, they placed tags in the mountain lion's ears, which is standard practice for CPW after relocating a bear or mountain lion.
The mountain lion is a 2-year-old female and is healthy. She weighs 60 pounds. The home where she was found is located at East Oxford Avenue and South Broadway. The resident there said their house cat was acting skittish about going outside and when they investigated whether something was out there they spotted the animal under the deck and contacted authorities.
CPW says they got a recent "credible" report of a mountain lion traveling far from the foothills into the city on Tuesday. Someone said they spotted one near the intersection of Mineral Avenue and Quebec Street. That's about 10 miles from the Englewood home where the lion tranquilized Thursday night.
"It is possible it could be from the same mountain lion, which may have navigated northwest up Willow Creek and Little Dry Creek and into Englewood, but there is no way of definitively knowing that is the case," CPW spokesman Jason Clay wrote in a news release.
Martinez said CPW's operation went smoothly, and he's glad everyone in the neighborhood is safe and the mountain lion is okay.
The mountain lion was relocated out of town and into more appropriate habitat. Here is video of its release. pic.twitter.com/aIwlj9qDRV
— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) July 9, 2021