Mountain Lion Gets Trapped in Family’s Bathroom After Chasing Cat into Sonora Home
OutdoorHub Reporters 09.19.19
A couple in Tuolumne County, California accidentally left a door to their house open, and received a surprise (and unwanted) visitor while watching TV Sunday evening.
“We were just watching television and then all of a sudden, we heard a big bang,” homeowner Edward Sudduth recalled.
Edward, 84, and his wife Kathy, 87, believe the predator was on the prowl hunting for their neighbor’s cat which evidently led to the Sudduth’s living room. Kathy told Fox40 it took a moment to register what had just happened.
“We thought it was a dog at first,” she explained.
“His tail was pretty close to me so I just ‘whipped’ it a little bit like that,” Edward added.
The couple’s frantic response caused the mountain lion to run in a nearby bathroom, where it locked itself inside. Edward says he and his wife sheltered in the next room and called 911 for help. Upon arriving, the Department of Fish and Wildlife along with Tuolumne County Sheriff’s deputies were faced with a trapped, wild animal – not good!
A spokesman for DFW said they had two options; break the bathroom window and allow the mountain lion to exit on its own, or dart the lion from outside the house.
With the homeowner’s permission, officers broke the window and were able to coax the lion back outside.
