BOULDER, Colo. — Wildlife officers removed and relocated a mountain lion found underneath a porch in Boulder Sunday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said.
CPW said the mountain lion was under the porch of a home in the area of 23rd Street and Panorama Avenue. The homeowners found it around 7:30 a.m., when their dog alerted them to something underneath the porch, which is only about a foot off the ground.
The homeowner thought it might be a raccoon, which they often find in the area. When they went outside with a flashlight and noticed the mountain lion, they called authorities.
Wildlife officers tranquilized the mountain lion and pulled it out from under the porch just before 10 a.m. They released it in a remote area of southwest Larimer County by 1 p.m., CPW said.
CPW said the mountain lion was a sub-adult. It looked physically healthy and weighed about 115 to 120 pounds.
CPW said because the lion was in a confined space that made it safe to tranquilize, wildlife officers decided to move it out of the area.
“One factor we look at is location when we get cats that come into town,” CPW wildlife officer Tyler Asnicar said in a release. “This one was pretty far east in Boulder in a populated area and it is not a good situation to have a big predator like that close to so many people. It is better for the people and the cat to try to move it. Relocation was our best approach in this case.”
CPW said since Jan. 15, there have been a total of 18 reports of mountain lions in the city of Boulder. They also said several pets have been taken by sub-adult lions.
“Leading up to this over the past couple weeks, we’ve had several pets taken in town by a sub-adult lion, probably siblings in town,” Asnicar said. “They’ve been spotted a lot in north Boulder. This may or may not have been one of those cats, but increased winter activity is fairly typical as they follow their prey base down, and particularly the mule deer that move into lower elevations this time of year. The cats concentration around the western edge of town and that leads to an increase in sightings and probably led to this cat being in town looking for something to eat.”
CPW said anyone who sees a mountain lion in Boulder should report it. They said timely reports are important, especially if it's an active sighting and not one spotted on a security or trail camera from days before.
Reports can be made to Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Denver office at 303-291-7227 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or to Colorado State Patrol at 303-239-4501 after hours.
People can learn more about living with mountain lions and other wildlife by visiting the Living with Wildlife section of CPW's website.
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