Wildlife Officials Try To Lure Mountain Lion Out From Under Los Feliz Home

LOS FELIZ (CBSLA.com) — A mountain lion known among wildlife officials as specimen P-22 was trapped Monday afternoon under a Los Feliz home.

Neighbors and news crews gathered around a home in the 2700 block of Glendower Avenue, where the animal had gotten cozy in the crawl space, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The discovery was made when a worker with a security company came face-to-face with the wildcat.

"I really thought I was being punked," the homeowner told CBS2/KCAL9's Erica Nochlin. "He had gone into the crawl space and came face-to-face with the lion. Then, he was up there terrified, saying, 'Dude, I've got to finish this job another day.'"

L.A. Animal Services was called and worker Armando Navarrete ventured below the home, where he came within 10 feet of the animal. He immediately realized this was a matter for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"I should have probably exercised more caution, but I didn't think it was that severe because we get calls for cats, big cats, and it's usually a bobcat or a domestic cat," Navarrete said. "First, it's disbelief, because you can't believe it's actually a mountain lion."

So far, P-22 has not made any aggressive moves, even as a crew attempted to scare the animal out from under the home by waving a stick and pelting tennis balls through a vent in the crawl space.

Firefighters were there to assist wildlife officials in case they need to tranquilize the animal.

"The plan is to get the cat out safely, and without harming it or anyone around," Navarrete said.

Fish and Wildlife workers say they plan to back off and sprinkle white flour at the entrance of the crawl space, so they'll be able to see if they animal has left.