Police in the city of Redlands are warning residents after a mountain lion was spotted several times in neighborhoods and parks.
Within a 24-hour period, the cougar was spotted twice in one neighborhood in the San Bernardino County community. Residents who have encountered it say it wasn’t aggressive, but it was shocking because it’s been spotted all over the city.
Dayna Springfield shot cellphone video of the mountain lion at around 9:45 Sunday morning. In the video you can see a large mountain lion in the tree right outside her home in Redlands.
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“He was just up there hanging out.. kind of scary of course,” Springfield said with a laugh.
She said that moments later, construction noise scared the big cat away. But not before a Redlands police officer took a photo of it and gave it to her.
“We are not a small little town. We are a pretty big city, so very surprising he's been here and there and everywhere in Redlands,” Springfield said.
If it is the same mountain lion, she is right.
Steven Rimmer shared a video of it from around 10 a.m. near Prospect Park.
And Jason Huckeba, who works at the Redlands Lowes, shared videos of a lion easily hopping a fence and pacing back and forth in an alleyway outside the building.
These sightings have prompted Redlands police to send out this warning on social media, saying mountain lions are native to this area and pose little threat to humans.
"There was a huge mountain lion walking directly in front of me perpendicular to me and I just froze,” Katie Applegate, a Redlands resident, said.
Applegate said her encounter happened last week at Prospect Park while she was walking her two dogs. She recently had knee surgery and said her heart was racing, but she couldn’t run because of her knee. Fortunately she says a man who was walking his German shepherd told her to act big and don’t turn her back to it.
“The mountain lion took one look at us and kept walking and ignored us, but if it comes toward us I will release my shepherd,” Applegate said.
The mountain lion kept walking and disappeared into the park.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife is aware of the sightings. A public information officer said if anyone sees a mountain lion, you should call local law enforcement first so they can determine the threat level. If the lion needs to be safely removed, they will notify wildlife officers for any further action.
“He's lost, probably he's looking for food. He's looking for water,” Springfield said.
She said she is worried about the mountain lion possibly getting hit by a car and seriously injured or killed.
“Hopefully he can be relocated somewhere where he belongs in nature,” Springfield said.
Wildlife officials say if you come across a mountain lion, act big, make a lot of noise and slowly back away. Do not turn around and run because they will chase you.
