The animal was first reported in the 700 block of North Grape Street, according to police in the San Diego County city of Escondido. The neighborhood visited by the cougar is several miles from the closest foothills.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife also responded to the scene, police said. Officials used staff on the ground and drones in the air to monitor the animal’s location.

After wandering near homes and businesses, the big cat reportedly took refuge underneath a pickup truck at an apartment complex, NBC7 in San Diego reported.

Fish and Wildlife officials tranquilized the animal with a game dart, after which the mountain lion ran east over a fence before the dart started taking effect. It then fell asleep and was captured shortly after 7 p.m.

Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Steve Gonzalez told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the mountain lion is a 3-year-old male and was given an ear tag and collar before it was released into the Cleveland National Forest on Tuesday night. Facebook members who responded to the Escondido police online post expressed relief that the mountain lion was not euthanized.

“So pleased it’s been sedated and removed. Great job!” wrote one Facebook follower.

Mountain lions are considered a “specially protected mammal” and are illegal to hunt for sport in California.

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The Randall Preserve covers more than 112 square miles (290 square km), linking a patchwork of ranchland across the southern Sierra Nevada and the Tehachapi Mountains that will serve as a “biodiversity hotspot,” the Nature Conservancy announced last week.

The preserve is the largest ever assembled in California by the environmental nonprofit. Its topography stretches from desert to hilly grasslands to pine forest.

“This area is also one of the most significant in North America because by connecting Northern and Southern California it helps complete an intact network of open space lands from Canada to Mexico,” the Nature Conservancy said in a statement.

The project cost $65 million, with all but $15 million donated by philanthropists Frank and Joan Randall.

It will allow movement of rare, threatened, and endangered animals that have been at risk from habitat loss, fragmentation and extreme climate events.

“The protection of this immense area ensures that 28 sensitive species across California, including slender salamanders, condors, legless lizards, golden eagles, primrose sphinx moths, mountain lions, badgers, and several endangered plants and blue oak trees, have the best chance of survival,” the statement said.

As part of the preserve, the Nature Conservancy said it will work with state transportation officials to create a system of wildlife crossings over and under some mountain roads to further facilitate safe movement of animals through the region.

In addition to the Randalls’ money, the preserve was funded by public and private donors, including the Wildlife Conservation Board, The Department of The Navy, CalTrans, Resources Legacy Fund, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

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At least 22 of the rescued pelicans had their wings broken so severely that bones came through the skin, according to the nonprofit Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center.

Officials are asking anyone with information on the attacks to contact authorities.

“We need your help to find whomever is performing this atrocious act,” the center said in a statement.

A total of 32 injured pelicans have been found on the Orange County coast between San Clemente and Huntington Beach over the past eight months, said Debbie McGuire, the center’s director.

More information is expected Wednesday at a joint news conference by the wildlife care center and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“These are very serious injuries that require emergency surgeries and long term care,” Dr. Elizabeth Wood, a veterinarian, said in the statement.

AP NEWS | Contributed

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