A mountain lion that wandered onto the grounds of Tucson Medical Center Friday was tranquilized and removed after it spent the morning trapped in a hospital courtyard, officials say.
A mountain lion was tranquilized Friday after it wandered into a courtyard at Tucson Medical Center, officials say. The lion, a male, apparently entered the hospital grounds about 10 a.m. and remained trapped in a courtyard until wildlife officers responded to the scene.
The lion, a male, apparently entered the hospital property about 10 a.m.
Photos and video shared with the Star showed the mountain lion pacing, and peering into windows in the courtyard. It cut a paw after apparently leaning on a window and breaking it, officials said.
There was “no meaningful effect on the hospital’s operations,” Daniel Gibson, a spokesman for TMC said in an email. No one was injured.
The lion was tranquilized about 12:30 p.m. and loaded it onto a Game and Fish pickup truck. The mountain lion was then taken to the department’s regional office, said Michael Colaianni, an agency spokesman.
“He’s very healthy, which is great news,” Colaianni said after the capture.
“Our wildlife officers have determined that this mountain lion can be released back into the wild,” Colaianni said later in the day.
The mountain lion showed no signs of behavior that could negatively affect its survival in the wild, he said.
“This just happened to be a mountain lion that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so we could determine it was suitable for release,” Colaianni said.
The mountain lion was fitted with a tracking collar late Friday.
Officials expected to release the lion Friday evening or Saturday.
