A mountain lion was captured on camera wandering through the yard of an Atascadero home Wednesday night.
Patricia Moresco lives on the 3300 block of San Fernando Road and says the video was taken just after 7 p.m.
California Department of Fish & Wildlife environmental scientist Brandon Swanson says the area is a hot spot for mountain lions due to the habitat and many deer.
He says reports of mountain lion sightings seem to be up slightly, but says that could also be because more people are spending time at home due to the pandemic.
Swanson says it was too hard to speculate whether the mountain lion was a juvenile or adult.
Anyone who sees a mountain lion is advised to stay away, make a lot of noise or throw rocks at it to make it feel unwelcome and make yourself appear big. Swanson says to not turn your back on it or run away as you will then become prey.
Swanson adds that recent counts show the mountain lion population appears to be bouncing back from the drought.
Morosco says that the last time they saw a mountain lion on their property was in 2017.
