Burbank Officials Issue Warnings After Several Mountain Lion Sightings

 
BURBANK (CBS) — Wildlife officials and Burbank police have warned foothill area residents to be on the lookout for mountain lions following the latest sighting Monday.

"They saw a mountain lion . . . I believe it was attacking a raccoon," said a Burbank police officer of the sighting in the 900 block of Country Club Drive. "Just this month here we've had three confirmed report sightings of this mountain lion."

KNX 1070 reports.

Mountain lions are known to prowl the Verdugo Mountains above Burbank and parts of Glendale, according to wildlife officials.

A wildcat attack on a smaller animal woke up Burbank resident Kim Strutt in the middle of the night recently.

"The screaming of the victim animal -- I came out on the deck and looked across the street where the noise was coming from, and, at that point, the bobcat took off and ran up the hill," Strutt recalled.

"That's the same bobcat that, the other day, was staring at me through my dining room windows while I was eating my breakfast," Strutt said.

Officials are advising residents to take precautions, and to not leave food out for raccoons or deer because that's what attracts mountain lions into the area.

"It's not like a bear where you lay down and play dead," Burbank police Sgt. Robert Quisada said. "They say to fight back."

That includes throwing rocks and making noise. They are precautions that some residents said they already take.

"I put my arms up over my head and, just, start screaming and running towards them -- they would take off," Burbank resident Virginia McKinney said.

Strutt said he is going to heed the advice issued by the Department Of Fish And Game on flyers across the neighborhood.

"I don't want to lose any of the grandchildren -- I've become quite fond of them -- so, I'm going to make sure that we're following the Fish And Game suggestions," Strutt said.