Mountain Lion Sightings Reported In Lakewood Neighborhoods
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado Parks and Wildlife is getting reports of mountain lions in parts of Lakewood. On Tuesday, security cameras on Katie Scheibeler's home caught the feline visitor in her front yard.
"I don't know ... it was like 'Wow, that's a mountain lion' and I had to really think about it like, 'Wow that's a mountain lion,'" she said. The video shows the mountain lion entering from her neighbor's yard and then seconds later wondering over to the house next door.
"I was out here looking at some insects that we were trying to identify about 10 minutes before he walked by -- didn't hear anything, didn't see anything. Had I waited any longer we would have seen each other," Scheibeler said.
It is the second sighting of a mountain lion east of Wadsworth Boulevard in a week. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say while it seems far from their more common territory, if they are hungry it is not unheard of.
Spokesman Jason Clay says there have been mountain lion sightings in Littleton, Lakewood and Golden since April.
They include at the following locations:
- Three in Lakewood near Kipling and Jewel
- One near 20th and Teller in Lakewood
- One north of Interstate 70 by Colorado Mills
- One at 6th Ave West Park in Golden
- One by University and Orchard Road
"It's the city, but they move. They're animals, they move," Scheibeler said.
For Scheibeler, the sighting was rare. Growing up in Colorado, she says she spends plenty of time in the mountains and she has never had a sighting until now.
"I've never seen a mountain lion. I've done camping, I've done hiking, it's just kind of unusual -- the first place that you might get to see one is in your front yard in Lakewood."
Colorado Parks and Wildlife says to reduce the risk of problems with mountain lions on or near your property, you can take some simple precautions. Learn more about those here: cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/LivingwithWildlifeLion1.aspx
