SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — A Lakeside woman was shocked at what her security camera captured in her backyard: it was a mountain lion pacing around, likely looking for something to eat.
Jennifer Ogden of Eucalyptus Hills said that she's used to seeing coyotes, but she thought she heard something much larger roaming the backyard at night.
When she took a look at their cameras and reviewed the video it confirmed what they feared: an actual mountain lion.
"Every November and December time it sounds like something large jumps on my roof and it always freaks me out and we make jokes about it,” said Ogden.
Animals are no stranger to her neighborhood, in fact, coyotes are a regular visitor just outside her home.
When the mountain lion showed up – the jokes were over.
"It was the largest animal I had seen in our videos,” said Ogden.
Ogden says her outside shed has a camera that's rolling on it the entire time.
According to her, the big cat paced around after getting in through her fence gate.
It left not too long after.
“We watched it a million times before we shouted the alarm to make sure what we were seeing was what we were seeing,” said Ogden.
While fascinating, Fish and Wildlife says it's not strange for the mountain lion to be in the area or even near the home.
According to the agency the animals hunt at night for small animals.
The Ogdens have an outdoor cat and several chickens in a coop - thankfully none were taken.
"They go in at night, they're all in at night and the coop is locked up,” Ogden said. “I think we'll shut the gate more often.”
According to Ogden, she put the video on social media so that neighbors could be prepared.
Once it got out, she wasn't the only one in the neighborhood that claimed to have spotted the mountain lion.
"The week before someone was jogging and it had ran in front of her and the next night after we had seen it we heard it distinctly cry really loud,” said Ogden.
Fish and Wildlife says it's extremely rare to see a mountain lion in person, but if you run into one don't approach them.