Large Mountain Lion Spotted in Samarkand Neighborhood in Broad Daylight

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Back-to-back videos of one, possibly two, recent mountain lion visits to neighborhoods in Samarkand are making the rounds in Santa Barbara.

Darren Moody shared his video with Your News Channel.

"My wife called and she said, "Oh my god!" And I was like, "What??" She said, "Have you seen the camera?"

Courtesy: Darren Moody

Moody said when he look at the family's security footage last Friday morning, he was just as shocked as his wife. The camera perched on their home on Romaine Drive captured what appeared to be a large, full-size cougar.

Moody said the startling thing about the mountain lion visit was the time -- it was 7:00 a.m. last Friday morning, in broad daylight. The family lives roughly a mile from Oak Park.

"It came up right through this area (below backyard) and then went up the driveway," said Moody. "And, thank goodness for the security camera. Anybody that has these cameras knows it's not uncommon to see a opossum or a raccoon something like that but this in particular was startling cuz of the size of the cat!"

Moody shared his video with neighbors, who posted it on Nextdoor.

"It seemed really comfortable so that was the disturbing part to me. Hopefully we don't see it again but it's definitely exciting!"

A half mile away, a second video taken by a different home security camera shows another large mountain lion sauntering along Vernon Road near Santa Anita Road. Vernon Road parallels Mission Creek, where the De La Vina Bridge Project is taking place.

Your News Channel has not spoken to that resident but it appears that image was taken about 2:00 a.m. It is unclear what day and if it's the same cougar.

Video of another mountain lion was captured walking along Vernon Road in 2021.