A mountain lion was spotted Friday morning in a Los Osos neighborhood. While Fish and Wildlife biologists say these sightings should be expected, they can still be surprising.
Terry Eselun has lived in her Los Osos home off 10th Street near Santa Ysabel Avenue since 2011.
Shortly after moving in, she says she installed cameras outside and discovered just how abundant and active the wildlife in the area is at night.
“We see a lot of coyotes walking up and down the street and down the path. The Elfin Forest is right here so they use this as a runway. We’ve seen a lot of deer. We have a family of raccoons, skunks every night, and even some foxes,” Eselun said.
Eselun checks her camera every morning to see which critters made an overnight appearance but what she saw Friday morning at the top of her driveway was a bit of a surprise.
“My heart stopped when I saw it on the Ring camera because I thought, that’s not a deer, it’s not a coyote. It had a lumbering kind of walk like a cat would walk. I had to look at it several times to believe it was a mountain lion, but it was,” Eselun said.
In the last month, Eselun says the animals have been more active at night. She now keeps her two dogs inside a little more, including overnight.
“I don’t know if this is the season for animals to be around more. They’ve been very active at night. We have a doggy door on the side, and we close it up at night so they can’t get out,” she said.
Brandon Swanson, a wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, says sightings like this are normal any time of the year.
“If there’s deer around, there’s probably a mountain lion that calls that area home. Lots of people see deer in the neighborhood, so a lion is going to inhabit that area as well,” Swanson said.
“I want the community to be aware that they’re magnificent and they have to be careful,” Eselun said.
According to the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, if you happen to encounter a mountain lion, make eye contact, raise your arms, speak loudly, and do not run away.
