Mountain lion captured in north Merced, police say
Merced residents are breathing a little easier on Friday night after police reported that a mountain lion that had been spotted around town was captured.
A resident spotted the mountain lion in a tree along Cottonwood Creek in north Merced and notified police, according to a Merced Police Department Facebook post.
Merced police called the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which responded to the scene.
The mountain lion was safely tranquilized and will be transported back to its natural mountain habitat, the post said.
The mountain lion was spotted near the Merced College campus on Thursday morning, prompting a safety alert to the college community.
According to Merced College director of communications and external relations James Leonard, the mountain-lion sighting took place northwest of the campus near Pickworth Court.
