UPDATED (12:45 PM): A quick-thinking custodian safely confined a mountain lion in an empty classroom after it entered a Northern California high school Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The custodian was opening Pescadero High for the school day when the juvenile cougar was spotted, said Detective Javier Acosta with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. No students or teachers were on campus at the time, Acosta said.
“The mountain lion casually walked through campus and decided to go into an English classroom,” he said. “The custodian acted quickly and managed to shut the door behind it.”
Acosta said the animal, estimated to be about 40 pounds, appeared “lost and scared."
A mountain lion entered a Northern California school Wednesday morning and was safely confined in a classroom, authorities said.
All students and staff at Pescadero High School in the community of Pescadero were safe, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said in a social media post.
“Staff and Deputies have been able to isolate the puma to a classroom and there is no immediate threat,” the post said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was notified to come to the school and remove the cougar.
Pescadero is about 35 miles south of San Francisco.
