The number of mountain lion sightings across the Bay Area and the state has risen 17% since 2020.
That's according to figures provided to KCBS Radio by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The Bay Area sightings include two cases in Sonoma County this month when mountain lions had to be tracked down and captured after entering populated areas. In both cases – the first in Rohnert Park on Oct. 18 – the mountain lions had ventured into residential neighborhoods.
Two schools were placed on lockdown during the earlier event.
A big cat located on Tuesday night in Santa Rosa is being evaluated to determine whether it can return to the wild. The mountain lion trapped in Rohnert Park had to be euthanized after it was determined it suffered from a neurological disorder.
"I will say there probably is something to the sense we're all getting that there's an increased number of mountain lion sightings and an increased number of wildlife sightings," Ken Paglia, spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "But there also may be a perceived increase because these days there's just more ways to see and communicate about wildlife."
That includes home surveillance systems.
Paglia said biologists believe the big cats are coming to populated areas because the ongoing California drought is forcing them to search for water. Some may also have had their habitats disrupted by wildfire.
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