San Francisco, USA – Video filmed by X user Jessica Fajard, a Bay Area resident focused on caregiving, health tech, writing, and hosting events, shows San Francisco Animal Care & Control officers darting and capturing a large mountain lion that wandered into Pacific Heights on the morning of January 27, 2026.

The footage, captured from inside a building window, shows the cougar moving cautiously along streets lined with Victorian and Edwardian homes, parked cars, trees, and urban landscaping. The animal appears disoriented while navigating the residential area.

Officers in uniform approach methodically with dart guns and successfully sedate the mountain lion. The animal leaps a short distance before slowing, staggering, and eventually collapsing. The team secures the sedated animal for safe transport, ensuring no danger to residents.

The filmer’s narration emphasizes the rarity and excitement of seeing a large wild animal in broad daylight in a populated neighborhood. The video has received over 3,400 views, dozens of likes, reposts, replies, and bookmarks, with commenters noting the cougar’s impressive size and praising the safe handling by Animal Care & Control.

This incident reflects an increase in mountain lion sightings in San Francisco neighborhoods, including Pacific Heights and nearby hills, likely driven by drought conditions and young males dispersing. Tranquilizer darts are routinely used to safely relocate non-aggressive cougars while avoiding euthanization. The footage provides a rare, close-up look at urban wildlife management in action.

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