Viral

A Mountain Lion On The Loose Terrorized A High School In Granada Hills

Last week, local news coverage in Los Angeles went viral when one of the most surreal, selfie-tastic police chases ended with a flurry of donuts, poses and pictures. The 90-minute pursuit came to a peaceful end, thankfully, and the only casualties were the eyeballs and brain-holes of everyone whose news feeds were littered with mentions of the event. So what did KTLA, ABC 7 and the rest of the city’s news affiliates contribute to this week’s viral roundup? A friggin’ mountain lion, that’s what.

According to California State Department of Fish and Wildlife officials who spoke with KTLA and ABC 7, the supposedly ferocious feline was first spotted on the campus of John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, a high-income neighborhood in northern Los Angeles. That sighting, which occurred around 7 a.m. local time, triggered a school lockdown and the arrival of police officers and wildlife officers. Oh, and by the way, the school’s official mascot is the cougar.

Officials on the scene eventually found the animal around 12:30 p.m. local time and shot it with a tranquilizer, according to ABC 7. That’s when the mountain lion escaped from campus and headed into the local neighborhood.

The authorities and several nearby news helicopters covering the event followed the creature into a yard, where it played in the grass (because it’s a cat), lay around for a bit (because it’s really a cat) and eventually passed out. That’s when officers moved in, “safely restrained” the mountain lion and took it away in a pickup truck.

The media on the scene, and those watching them, had fun with the experience.

https://twitter.com/LeonardFiles/status/721080277993332736

https://twitter.com/darth/status/721062758687485953

Others noticed that several Kennedy students were also online, frantically tweeting and Snapchatting about the experience.

https://twitter.com/SadBoyStunna/status/721047852240113664

https://twitter.com/dankmemegoddess/status/721046499845496832

https://twitter.com/gisellede_leon/status/721056056739168256

(Via KTLA, ABC 7 and Mashable)