Mountain Lion Captured Outside San Francisco’s Oracle Park

Earlier this week, a video surfaced on the internet of a mountain lion walking through San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood, a rare sight for an area surrounded by cityscape. Today, a mountain lion was captured outside Oracle Park on the other side of the city, raising the question whether it was the same cat.

Mountain lion captured on camera this morning in San Francisco’s China Basin by @KPIXtv photographer Brian Kiley. It was later captured by animal control. https://t.co/BTBQwU8AjZ pic.twitter.com/zIjQE7uOrn

— Joe Vazquez (@joenewsman) June 18, 2020

Officials closed down streets outside the San Francisco Giants stadium on Thursday morning as reports of a mountain lion were coming in to the police department. The big cat was captured by wildlife officials on the intersection of Fourth and Channel streets in the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood.

Mountain lion wandering in San Francisco safely captured and relocated. https://t.co/3qiQ9CWV2R @SFGate pic.twitter.com/0UiZOUMzdy

— marinparks (@marinparks) November 13, 2017

Since the city has stayed mostly inside due to the Covid-19 pandemic, coyote sightings that were once rare have exploded in the City by the Bay. Now, three different mountain lion sightings have residents on edge as they wonder if wildlife is reclaiming the area they once called home.

Here are a few mountain lion sightings in the city this week:

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: A mountain lion was spotted along the Embarcadero and Russian Hill neighborhood in San Francisco. A biologist with the Bay Area Puma project tells us more about the animal here: https://t.co/7AzuNqMS3X pic.twitter.com/HjY43XIqSc

— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) June 16, 2020

At around 12:30 am I spotted a mountain lion roaming the streets of Russian Hill. I followed from inside my car and lost visual contact near intersection of Greenwich and Jones. Be safe when walking alone at night or when walking your pets. I reported the sighting to @SFPD pic.twitter.com/xlreghRSaJ

— Fernando Robles (@Ing_Fehr) June 16, 2020

It remains unclear if any of the mountain lions sightings are the same cat, or if they are all separate animals. Either way, the Covid closures are creating a wildlife frenzy in San Francisco.