Mountain Lion Spotted In Pasadena Backyard

PASADENA (CBSLA) - Authorities Thursday were investigating a mountain lion sighting in a Pasadena residential area.

A homeowner called Pasadena police around 4:30 p.m.. to report the animal on the 1600 block of N. Lake Avenue near Washington Blvd., according to Pasadena Fire spokeswoman Lisa Dederian.

The mountain lion was believed to be as large as 80 to 100 pounds, Dederian said.

A short time later, a resident on the 1500 block called police and said the cat was napping under a tree.

Fish and Wildlife officers responded to the scene.

CBS2's Jeff Nguyen reported that the big cat was captured around 6:30 p.m. and was, in fact, about 100 pounds.

The mountain lion is being taken to a vet for examination - it was rather lethargic.

When the lion first appeared residents noticed how emaciated it looked.

Nguyen spoke to Brent Wadsworth who discovered the mountain lion while looking for his pet cat which has been missing for a couple of days.

"I looked over the fence," he says, "and I called for him and -- surprise. There's a bigger cat back there."

Meanwhile, Gavin Corteza was taking cellphone video before the officers with Fish and Wildlife arrived.

"When I was taking a picture of it, you can tell it was heavily panting," Corteza said.

The lion looked more frail than fierce.

"The thing looked sick," Wadsworth said ,"It was lying there. I was peeking over the fence.  It turned and looked at me once. But stayed lying down."

Sick or not, the cat didn't venture far from its shady spot.

"It was mellow," said Lt. Kory Collins with Fish and Wildlife, "It was lying down in the bushes, it felt safe where is was. There wasn't a lot of people around."

Wadsworth is looking for his cat, but the big kitty wouldn't exactly make a house pet.

"I just hope they don't kill this cat," he said, "If they relocate it, it'll be great."