Colorado officials remove mountain lion from underneath family's back deck
The cat was removed from a neighborhood in Boulder after a pet dog discovered it under a deck
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Parks and Wildlife officers in Colorado have removed a mountain lion from a neighborhood in Boulder. A family's pet dog discovered the large cat underneath their back deck and alerted them Sunday morning.
Officers arrived on the scene and successfully tranquilized the mountain lion, according to a statement from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department. Once it was safe to do so, the officers removed the cat and transported it to a remote area in Larimer County, where it was released.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A family's dog discovered the mountain lion underneath a family's back deck. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
CPW Officer Tyler Asnicar, who tranquilized the cat, said, "One factor we look at is location when we get cats that come into town. This one was pretty far east in Boulder in a populated area and it is not a good situation to have a big predator like that close to so many people. It is better for the people and the cat to try to move it. Relocation was our best approach in this case."
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Officials tranquilized the cat and removed it from the property. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
He continued, "Leading up to this over the past couple weeks, we’ve had several pets taken in town by a sub-adult lion, probably siblings in town. They’ve been spotted a lot in north Boulder. This may or may not have been one of those cats, but increased winter activity is fairly typical as they follow their prey base down, and particularly the mule deer that move into lower elevations this time of year. The cats concentration around the western edge of town and that leads to an increase in sightings and probably led to this cat being in town looking for something to eat."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Asnicar also explained how a cat like this being spotted in a residential neighborhood isn't cause for concern.
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Officials relocated the mountain lion to a remote area in Larimer County. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
"Especially in Boulder, always be aware, but don’t be worried," Asnicar said. "Cats are going to come and go, it is not a new thing and it isn’t going to go away, so know that if you are out and about in town you have a chance of coming upon a mountain lion or other predators as well like bears, coyotes and foxes. So keep an eye on your pets, keep an eye on your kids and teach them what to do if they were to encounter a mountain lion or bear."