COLUSA, CA (KTXL/CNN) – A woman in California was startled out of sleep when a mountain lion crashed through her apartment window and landed on her bed.
Security video from July 4 shows a juvenile mountain lion in Colusa, CA, dart in front of a pick-up truck and crash into the door of a bowling alley. It takes off running again, this time into the parking lot of an apartment complex.
The disoriented creature then jumped through the window of one apartment, landing on the sleeping resident’s bed.
"She was asleep, and it landed on her bed. Actually, at first, I think she said she thought she was dreaming. It didn't seem real,” apartment manager Francis Muniz said.
The female tenant stayed calm and opened the back door of her apartment. The big cat, bleeding and likely confused, left on cue.
Animal trackers say the mountain lion may have thought it was jumping into a cave or reacting to its reflection when it jumped into first, the bowling alley door and later, the apartment window.
"He hit it pretty hard because he bent the door. Most people don't believe that a mountain lion hit it. We have to show them the pictures,” bowling alley manager Linda Silk said.
John Troughton, a Colusa County Fish and Game commissioner, says this incident is a wake-up call. He says he’s been concerned about an increase in mountain lion sightings in the area for several years.
"The reality is that lions are in this area. One of them has been in town probably more than once,” he said.
The man fears mountain lions will pose a risk to pets and small children in town, where people are supposed to feel safe.
"People could be in danger when they come face to face with one of these lions,” he said.
Troughton wants state Fish and Game to take measures to assess the problem and perhaps consider a trapping or relocation program if warranted.
"They're protected, and I understand that. And I think they're very pretty, but there's a place for them and there's a place that isn't for them,” he said.
Copyright 2017 KTXL, Francis Muniz, John Troughton via CNN. All rights reserved.
