Mountain lion spotted in Santa Barbara neighborhood

The mountain lion was spotted around 5:45 a.m. in a Santa Barbara neighborhood and police were immediately notified.

It was first spotted by Sal Ramirez jumping over a fence on Ontare Road near State Street. Then it was on a private road.

Using a cell phone he captured an image of the big cat as it crossed a driveway.

Ramirez said he saw a police officer nearby on State Street and reported the sighting.

Neighbors in the area say they have seen coyotes and other smaller animals but not a mountain lion.

Resident Lissa Thomas said, “The mountain lions, they come and they grab little dogs and little cats. They can jump the fence. They can jump a six-foot fence which is really scary.”

Walking through his neighborhood on a trip from the store Dan Leonardi said, “It’s amazing it’s this close to us and the size of it too.”

The cat was estimated to be about 80 pounds.

Vicky Leonardi said, “A good guess is that maybe a mom came down here and maybe they were born and maybe they are used to this environment here and are staying down in the creeks.”

This latest mountain lion sighting is the third in city limits in just two months. In late April, an adolescent mountain lion was seen on the back patio of a Santa Barbara home on upper Anacapa Street. Another was spotted on the 700 block of Laguna Street on April 6 in the early morning hours.