Mountain lion caught on video in Rohnert Park driveway

A Rohnert Park resident got a close-up glimpse of Sonoma County wildlife in a video from her driveway over the weekend.|

CHARLES SWANSON

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

February 7, 2023

What to do if you see a mountain lion

According to the US Forest Service, mountain lions should always be considered unpredictable and potentially dangerous. Although many times they may detect your presence and flee the area before you notice them, encounters may occur.

Don’t hike alone. If you do, avoid dawn, dusk or night hours.

Keep small children close.

Keep dogs on a leash.

Don’t approach or run from a mountain lion.

Don’t crouch or bend when a mountain lion is in view.

Continue facing the mountain lion, and maintain eye contact. Hold your ground or back away slowly.

Do all you can to appear larger; Stand upright, raise your arms, raise your walking stick, open your jacket.

A Rohnert Park resident got a close-up glimpse of Sonoma County wildlife in a video from her front yard over the weekend.

Vanessa Denison shared security camera video with The Press Democrat of a mountain lion walking across the driveway of her home on Fairway Drive in north Rohnert Park Saturday at 1:03 a.m.

According to Denison, the animal did not cause any damage or threaten any of the home’s residents. “(It) just took a stroll through my front yard,” she wrote in a message.

The sighting comes less than a week after a mountain lion attacked a 5-year-old boy who was hiking Jan. 31 with his family in rural San Mateo County. In that instance, the big cat pounced on him and pinned him to the ground, authorities and family members said. His mother charged the animal and it let the boy go and ran off. The child is expected to make a full recovery.

In October, multiple mountain lion sightings were reported in Rohnert Park, according to authorities, who said in a news release at the time that Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety received reports of mountain lion sightings Oct. 18, near Copeland Creek Trail, between Country Club Drive and Snyder Lane, and in the area of Sunrise Park.

In November, a mountain lion entered a Santa Rosa home, attacked a dog and eventually killed two goats before a Sonoma County trapper killed the animal in an act experts said was appropriate due to the animal’s abnormal behavior.