Earlier this week, a young mountain lion went into an empty high school classroom in northern California.
A Reuters report mentioned the animal huddled under a desk, where officials safely contained it. According to authorities, wildlife experts debated how best to remove the animal.
A mountain lion cub was saved and is now being treated at the Oakland Zoo.
Young Mountain Lion Enters California High School
NBC News, citing local authorities' accounts, said the sudden and unannounced presence of a mountain lion surprised both students and employees at California High School.
According to the Oakland Zoo, the Himalayan lion that made its way inside Pescadero High School in San Mateo District is 6 to 8 months old and most likely an abandoned lion cub.
The young animal was discovered shortly before 8:30 a.m. According to a spokesman from the San Mateo District Sheriff's Station, the event occurred on Wednesday, just as the cleaning staff was getting ready to open the facility.
On social media, the San Mateo State Police Command confirmed that all students and personnel at Pescadero High School in the town of Pescadero were uninjured and safe.
Officials declared in a tweet that all staff and investigators were lucky to restrict the puma to a lecture theatre. They also clarified that there was no imminent threat, according to The Guardian.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service was also dispatched to the school to begin the removal of the puma. According to the state police command, the agency removed the big cat from the school atmosphere securely and sympathetically and returned it to its natural habitat.
According to a California Division of Fish and Wildlife staffer, the mountain lion is a juvenile puma who has never held animosity. It was emaciated and in bad shape, according to them.
Pescadero is a small beach town about 35 miles south of San Francisco. The zoo reported it was found after the lunch break and had to be knocked out before being apprehended and transferred.
According to images acquired by Fox News, the creature is alone in the lecture hall, snuggling up alongside another workstation.
How The Young Lion Got Locked in Classroom
The large cat's entrance inside the school in Pescadero, a little seaside community 30 miles west of San Jose, is still a mystery.
According to a recent Times of Nation article, a custodian closed the entrance to the English lecture hall, keeping the cub inside. Even though it was bewildered and afraid, they attempted to let it go on its own, but the large cat was adamant about not leaving.
According to the local police station, instructors and team members were ordered back to their homes for the day as a safety precaution.
Oakland Zoo said the mountain lion would be sent to a wildlife refuge. The creature is also too young to live on its alone - mountain lions spend their first two years learning from their mothers - yet, according to the article, no other mountain lions have been spotted in the area.
The male mountain lion is underweight but otherwise healthy. According to a Yahoo article, he was spotted peacefully beneath a teacher's desk.
About Mountain Lions
According to NWF, mountain lions, sometimes known as cougars, pumas, panthers, or catamounts, are big cats known to the Americas. Mountain lions are tawny cats with a huge body. Their bodies are mostly covered with tawny-beige fur, except for the whitish-gray belly and chest. The tip of the tail, the ears, and the nose all have black patterns.
Mountain lions' typical body size varies dramatically depending on geographic location, with the smallest being closer to the equator and the largest being closer to the poles. Males naturally weigh between 115 and 220 pounds (52 and 100 kilograms), whereas females typically range from 64 to 141 pounds (29 and 64 kilograms).
The mountain lion's range extends from the Canadian Yukon to the Strait of Magellan, making it the most widespread living animal in America. Mountain lions may be found in a variety of environments, including mountains, forests, deserts, and wetlands, where they find refuge and prey. They are territorial and have low natural population densities, so they require broad tracts of wilderness habitat to survive.
RELATED ARTICLE: Belgian Malinois Defends Master After a Mountain Lion Attacks Northern California Hiker; Puma Leaves Dog and Owner Injured
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