# Mountain lion captured in the middle of San Francisco **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100 "2026-01-27T20:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/1 "2026-01-27T20:09:24Z")
SFist article:[SF Animal Control Locates Mountain Lion In Pac Heights, Will Transport It Elsewhere](https://sfist.com/2026/01/27/sf-animal-control-locates-mountain-lion-in-pac-heights/) The lion had been seen wandering around the last couple of days. They caught up with it near the intersection of Octavia and Butler which is pretty far from where it must have come from (Santa Cruz Mountains or Marin? Or maybe it was an escaped pet?). Hopefully it will be relocated to a spot far away from humans. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/2 "2026-01-27T20:19:51Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > SF Animal Control Locates Mountain Lion In Pac Heights, Will Transport It Elsewhere Plenty of cougars in SF, but mountain lions? Pretty crazy. It might survive in the Presidio quite easily, but how would it have gotten there? ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/3 "2026-01-27T20:23:20Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > intersection of Octavia and Butler Article says Octavia & Pacific. Butler looks to be a one-block street in South San Francisco, nowhere near Octavia. Octavia Butler was a SciFi author (but not an SF SciFi author AFAIK) ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/4 "2026-01-27T20:25:22Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > but how would it have gotten there? Sausalito Ferry and then Muni? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/5 "2026-01-27T20:30:58Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Plenty of cougars in SF, but mountain lions? Is there a difference? For me the terms refer to the same species of animal. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/6 "2026-01-27T20:32:03Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Is there a difference? Pssst… “Cougar” is a slang term too. 😏 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/7 "2026-01-27T20:33:30Z")
I’m aware of that, but not that cougars (in the non-animal sense) have any particular association with San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/8 "2026-01-27T20:40:28Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Article says Octavia & Pacific Oops, got my street names mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/9 "2026-01-27T20:59:53Z")
I will speculate the Santa Cruz Mountains - as I really doubt a wild animal like a mountain lion would cross the Golden Gate Bridge, or take the Sausalito Ferry, or Bus 101 from Marin County. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/10 "2026-01-27T21:09:05Z")
At least the cops did not blow it away this time. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/11 "2026-01-27T21:11:09Z")
Well, I’m glad they were able to catch it and didn’t have to destroy it. When I watched the news this morning they were still trying to find it. > [@snowthx](#): > > I will speculate the Santa Cruz Mountains It would have had to cross a fair few residential neighborhoods to get all the way to Pacific Heights, difficult to do without being seen. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/12 "2026-01-27T21:15:23Z")
A cougar, mountain lion, puma, panther, catamount, and a few other names all refer to the same animal. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/13 "2026-01-27T21:16:18Z")
I was thinking maybe Caltrain up the peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/14 "2026-01-27T21:22:21Z")
Mountain lions are, in fact, pumas, not panthers. Before you scold me for pointless argumentation, I am sure someone, somewhere, has called them that, but if you told me you saw a “panther” I might imagine a jaguar or leopard or something. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/15 "2026-01-27T21:31:03Z")
Might it have actually taken public transportation? Or at least, a public transportation right-of-way? Around here, the land immediately to the sides of the transit rails is often pretty wild, and secluded in a valley below the surrounding land, which makes them often used as corridors by wildlife. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/16 "2026-01-27T21:33:27Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Plenty of cougars in SF, but mountain lions? Pretty crazy. I dunno, this one seems like he’d fit in just fine: [![](https://cdn.hanna-barberawiki.com/b/b9/Snagglepuss_Lion.png) ](https://cdn.hanna-barberawiki.com/b/b9/Snagglepuss_Lion.png) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/17 "2026-01-27T21:42:58Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > I dunno, this one seems like he’d fit in just fine: And if not, he just has to exit, stage left. > [@DPRK](#): > > Mountain lions are, in fact, pumas, not panthers. Before you scold me for pointless argumentation, I am sure someone, somewhere, has called them that, but if you told me you saw a “panther” I might imagine a jaguar or leopard or something. There is an actual subspecies of puma called the “Florida panther”, so there are a lot of people calling them that. > **[Florida panther](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_panther)** > > The Florida panther is a North American cougar (P. c. couguar) population in South Florida. It lives in pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks and mixed freshwater swamp forests. Its range includes the Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest, as well as rural communities in the counties of Collier, Hendry, Hardee, Desoto, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Monroe County. It is the only confirmed cougar population in the Eas... ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/18 "2026-01-27T21:45:43Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Mountain lions are, in fact, pumas, not panthers. Before you scold me for pointless argumentation, I am sure someone, somewhere, has called them that, but if you told me you saw a “panther” I might imagine a jaguar or leopard or something. I will refer you to other sources. - [Cougar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar), a big cat that is not in the subfamily Pantherinae, but is commonly referred to as a panther - [Florida panther](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_panther), a population of cougar [Panther - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/19 "2026-01-27T21:47:31Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Mountain lions are, in fact, pumas, not panthers. Not in North American English: - NORTH AMERICAN ENGLISH a large American wild cat with a plain [tawny] to [grayish] coat, found from Canada to Patagonia. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100/20 "2026-01-27T21:48:32Z")
OK, appreciate the link— I was under the impression that in California they typically call them “mountain lions”, though. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Not in North American English: > > - NORTH AMERICAN ENGLISH > > a large American wild cat with a plain [tawny] to [grayish] coat, found from Canada to Patagonia. So, it seems that there are not too many jaguars wandering around the San Francisco Bay Area these days. Who knew? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mountain-lion-captured-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco/1027100.md?page=2)