Screen grab of video shows mountain lion being released into the wild on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 after it was found roaming San Francisco, Calif. (California Department of Fish and Wildlife via Bay City News)

The young mountain lion that was captured Tuesday after roaming the streets of San Francisco was returned to a natural habitat early Wednesday morning.

A video on social media posted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, showed the mountain lion exiting a cage and quickly disappearing into open space. 

“CDFW returned a mountain lion to natural habitat early this morning after the young cat found himself surrounded by the busy city streets of San Francisco,” the department said in the post. 

The mountain lion was located and tranquilized Tuesday morning by San Francisco Animal Care and Control after it was seen in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. The first sighting was reported Monday morning near Lafayette Park. 

Alise Maripuu is an intern at BCN with a focus on covering the Peninsula. Originally from San Carlos, Alise discovered her passion for journalism after studying abroad in Thailand during her senior year attending UC Santa Cruz. Her experience in Thailand taught her the consequences for democracy when living in a society with strict laws against free speech. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history, Alise took courses in journalism at Skyline Community College to learn how to write for news. As the Chief Copy Editor on Skyline’s student-run newspaper for the 2023-24 school year, Alise gained editing and managing experience leading a team of reporters. She covered hyperlocal stories affecting her campus such as the rise in food and housing insecurity. Alise wants to focus on data journalism.