Cougar in the City: Mountain lion captured after roaming San Francisco's Outer Sunset

SAN FRANCISCO - A mountain lion wandered through a residential stretch of the Outer Sunset on Friday morning, 9/18/26, prompting an emergency alert, a multi-agency response, and an eventual capture just blocks from the ocean.

The animal was first reported near 44th Avenue and Ulloa Street. Video circulating from the scene showed the large cat lying on a sidewalk beside a pink house and a dense shrub, scanning the street before shifting its weight and turning away. Residents described a tense but brief encounter in a neighborhood far more accustomed to fog and parked cars than apex predators.

San Francisco Animal Care and Control, police, and later state Fish and Wildlife game wardens converged on the area. Officials issued a Nixle alert telling people not to run, to pick up small children, keep dogs leashed, and back away slowly if they saw the cat. If the lion approached, the guidance was to appear larger, shout, and throw objects without turning to flee.

By late morning the standoff ended. Crews tranquilized the mountain lion and took it into custody. City officials later confirmed it had been transferred to state wildlife officers, who planned a veterinary check before releasing it back into suitable habitat. "The incident has been resolved, there is no danger to the public," a follow-up alert stated.

The sighting was the second in San Francisco in two weeks. Earlier this month a mountain lion was photographed in a tree in the Panhandle near Golden Gate Park. It is not yet known whether the same animal was involved.

Mountain lions occasionally push into the city's edges from the surrounding hills and coastal range, especially when young animals disperse or habitat is fragmented. Encounters in dense neighborhoods remain uncommon, which is why Friday's video and the rapid official response drew wide attention. Authorities continue to urge residents to report sightings to Animal Care and Control rather than approach the animals themselves.

Original video may be seen on Twitter at https://x.com/mike_dewald/status/2100985783784259819?s=20