(Reuters) – A young mountain lion wandered into an empty high school classroom in northern California on Wednesday and crouched under a desk, where school staff isolated the cat until wildlife officials could remove the animal, authorities said.
The juvenile cougar, weighing only about 40 pounds (18 kg), walked in as custodial staff were opening up the school before classes started, and neither the animal nor any humans were hurt in the incident, according to San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Javier Acosta.
The unusual invasion occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m. in the town of Pescadero, a small coastal ranching and farming community near a wildlife refuge about 45 miles (72 km) south of San Francisco.
“The mountain lion very casually walked through campus and went into the classroom and hunkered down under a desk,” Acosta told Reuters by telephone. A member of the custodial staff then closed the door to the room, usually used for English classes, to keep the animal isolated inside.
Although no students had arrived yet, school officials decided to go ahead with classes but were keeping pupils “locked down” until state fish and game personnel can safely remove the puma, Acosta said.
“They’ve been on property since about 9:30 a.m., formulating a plan to safely and humanely remove the mountain lion from the classroom and return it to its natural habitat,” Acosta said.
The incident is likely to mark a memorable highlight for Pescadero High students in their last week of classes for the academic year.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler)
