Redwood City Lion Relocated Safely
Redwood City officials safely capture and relocate young mountain lion to Santa Cruz Mountains
Key Points
Redwood City police issued an alert shortly before 11 a.m. directing residents to keep pets indoors at the 1800 block of Madison Avenue, after multiple calls came in from the Roosevelt neighborhood about the lion near Madison Avenue and Hudson Street close to Red Morton Park.
Officials described the situation as a “no-harm, no-foul situation” in which the lion left nearby suitable habitat and wandered into a populated area, and said CDFW planned to assess the lion’s health before immobilizing and relocating it.
The lion was estimated at 1 to 2 years old and a GPS tracking collar was placed on her around 12 p.m., with plans to move her back to open-space habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Beyond keeping pets indoors, the city advised residents to avoid the Madison–Hudson corridor during the response, and to report sightings to the parks department rather than approaching animals; the city’s mountain-lion guidance also urges making noise when hiking and keeping children close.
A young female mountain lion was tranquilized and captured in a Redwood City backyard on Monday morning after wandering into the Roosevelt neighborhood — just blocks from Red Morton Park. East Bay Times reported that police and state wildlife crews responded to multiple calls near Madison Avenue and Hudson Street, immobilized the 1-to-2-year-old cat with a tranquilizer dart, and fitted her with a GPS collar by noon.
No injuries were reported. California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Krysten Kellum called it a "no-harm, no-foul situation," and the lion was relocated to open-space habitat in the Santa Cruz Mountains the same afternoon, according to Hoodline.
Police Drone Tracked the Lion Block by Block
Redwood City Police issued an emergency alert just before 11 a.m. directing residents in the 1800 block of Madison Avenue to keep pets and children indoors. Officers deployed a drone unit to track the animal without putting responders in direct contact with it. The lion was found in a private backyard between Ruby Avenue and Sapphire Street, according to SFGATE.
Capt. Junsun Lee of the Redwood City Police said the drone was able to "safely track the animal as Fish and Wildlife worked a plan to tranquilize and capture it," according to NBC Bay Area. CDFW biologists and state game wardens arrived by 11:30 a.m. and hit the lion with a single tranquilizer dart. By noon, the animal was fully immobilized and secured.
GPS Collar Ties the Rescue to a Broader Lion Study
Once immobilized, wildlife teams fitted the lion with a GPS tracking collar provided by UC Santa Cruz researchers as part of an ongoing regional mountain lion study, according to SFGATE. The collar will let scientists track how she moves between wild and urban areas — data that could help determine where future wildlife crossings over Highway 280 should be built.
CDFW's Kellum said mountain lions "avoid populated areas and are very wary of humans" but sometimes stray into cities. "They will typically return to suitable habitat on their own," she said, "but on occasion need CDFW's intervention." Wildlife biologists say a 1-to-2-year-old lion is likely in its dispersal phase — the period when young cats leave their mothers to find new territory, per Mercury News.
A 'Threatened' Species Gets a Second Chance, Not a Death Sentence
The outcome reflects a major policy shift in California. In February 2026, the California Fish and Game Commission listed Central Coast mountain lion populations as "Threatened" under the California Endangered Species Act, according to CalMatters. That status prioritizes non-lethal relocation over killing for any non-aggressive animal.
State data shows lethal removal permits — called "take" permits — have been declining as relocation success rates improve. California is estimated to have roughly 4,200 mountain lions remaining, down from a long-cited figure of 6,000, per the LA Times. Female lions typically need a home range of 47 to 73 square miles, and the Santa Cruz Mountains span roughly 1,400 square miles across three counties.
What Redwood City Residents Should Do If It Happens Again
City officials urged residents to report any future sightings to the parks department — not to approach or confront the animal. The city's mountain lion guidelines also advise making noise when hiking in nearby open spaces like Stulsaft Park and keeping children close on trails, according to Hoodline.
The Roosevelt neighborhood incident was not isolated. A former KTVU reporter spotted a mountain lion at his Redwood City home in April 2026, suggesting the area sees recurring activity near the urban-wildland edge. Conservationists say sightings are a sign of habitat fragmentation — lions increasingly get squeezed by freeways and development into corridors that push them toward residential streets, according to East Bay Times.
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