While Burbank residents often see coyotes and bobcats on city streets and in backyards, especially in the areas close to the Burbank Verdugo Mountains, the recent sightings of a lone mountain lion are more unusual. Most recently, over the weekend of September 28-29, a mountain lion was spotted by residents in the area of Woodstock Lane and Brown Drive, to the east of Brace Canyon Park.
According to Burbank Animal Control Officer Dan Sheflin, the residents near Woodstock and Brown saw a mountain lion go up a pine tree and come down with an animal and head up into the Verdugos. After the cat left the area, several raccoons came out of the tree and ran off, so it is possible the cougar had caught a raccoon in the tree.
“The whole time I’ve been on this job, I’ve never seen one,” commented Officer Sheflin, referencing the fact that cougars are solitary creatures and rarely seen by people.
A few weeks ago, a mountain lion had caught a deer and dragged it into the backyard of a residence on Wedgewood Lane, north of Brace Canyon Park. The cat ran off into the hills, leaving the deer carcass behind, when Burbank police officers arrived on the scene.
No pictures have been taken yet of the elusive mountain lion, but Animal Shelter officials and Burbank Police continue to warn residents of the Verdugo foothills area of Burbank to keep watch over pets and small children and take precautions, knowing that a full size cougar is living in the rugged terrain nearby.
