A male mountain lion was tranquilized and taken into custody by wildlife officers after it walked into a Newport Beach residential neighborhood Friday, authorities said.
It’s the same radio-collared cat that was spotted in Laguna Beach earlier this month and will be returned to the Santa Ana foothills. The mountain lion appears to be in a healthy condition, said Tim Daly, a California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson.
The lion was spotted in the Port Streets neighborhood near Andersen Elementary School around the 1900 block of Port Cardigan Place, a Newport Beach city spokesperson said. Residents in the area were advised to keep animals and small children indoors.
A video posted by @OrangeCountyOutdoors on Instagram shows state wildlife officers and Newport Beach animal services officers carrying the sleeping cat on a stretcher and loading it into the bed of a pick-up truck parked. Its legs were bound and its eyes were blindfolded.
This story is developing and will be updated as necessary.
