Woman Comes face-to-face with mountain lion in her backyard
By Maria Cid Medina
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DALY CITY, California (KPIX) — From the Peninsula to Daly City, residents were on high alert after scores of mountain lion sightings near homes in the last couple of months.
On Monday morning, Laurie Golub came face-to-face with a cougar in her backyard. She said her dogs were barking at a tree in the rear of her Daly City home, which she thought was just another raccoon or cat.
“I noticed this big tail hanging down and I was like, ‘Oh, my God what is that,’” said Golub. “I looked right up and it was looking right down at me, the mountain lion. It was very scary. I screamed a couple things I won’t repeat, and I ran back inside.”
Daly City police warned residents to be cautious leaving their homes as they kept a close eye on the cougar with the help of a drone. The mountain lion was eventually spooked by the sound of a lawnmower and went into another yard.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife remained on scene throughout the night. Golub said they wanted to make sure the animal left the area safely and no one got hurt.
“It’s concerning, but also I feel bad for the mountain lion because their habitat is kind of shrinking and so they’re having to try to go to other areas to search for food,” Golub said. “I’m going to think twice when I go in my backyard.”
At least a half dozen residents in San Carlos and Redwood City have shared surveillance camera footage of mountain lions lurking near their homes at all hours of the day. One resident warned neighbors after his camera recorded a mountain lion that had returned two days after killing a deer on a front yard not too far away.
Jim Williamson said his 79-year-old father’s surveillance cameras have recorded a mountain lion at least a couple of times outside his home in San Carlos over the last year.
He said he’s not surprised at the repeated sightings of the powerful animal.
“People just need to be careful,” Williamson said. “We’re just so close to the edge of the hills. We like to go for walks, but when it gets so dark at this time of year, early, we’re always looking.”
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