A south San Jose neighborhood is on the alert Friday after a mountain lion was spotted in a back yard, peering into a house.
A family on Royal Meadow Lane woke up Thursday morning to see a mountain lion looking into their home through the back glass door. The startled wife managed to snap a photo of the animal.
It was only a few months ago, when neighbor Joyce Johnson captured a different image of a mountain lion roaming along her back fence.
Hikers NBC Bay Area talked to Friday took the sightings in stride.
“It’s not going to change my plans. It’s just wildlife. They’re here like we’re here. I’m about to go on a two-mile run,” said San Jose resident Thomas Hart.
But the homeowner Tom, who experienced the mountain lion visit was not as nonchalant.
NBC Bay Area talked to him by phone, and he said he’s just glad their dog was inside, but added the mountain lion was not rattled at all.
“It was very calm, he didn’t seem agitated, you know, intense,” he said. “I thought it was odd he would be so brave.”
The Bay Area Puma Project of the Felidae conservation Fund, dedicated to research and education .. said the mountain lion probably roamed from a gathering.
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Ecologists point out there hasn’t been a fatal lion attack since 1909 and only four non-fatal attacks since. They point out the lion’s calm demeanor says a lot.
“That animal was a younger lion. So probably maybe, I didn’t know how fearful it should be of being around human areas. So it just seemed like it was checking things out and then went upon its way,” said Alys Granados, a Lead Wildlife Ecologist.
The Puma Project said neighbors should take precautions and be vigilant when living in mountain lion country, including bringing pets and young children inside when they can’t be supervised.
