{"id":493145,"date":"2026-02-23T01:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T01:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/493145\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T01:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T01:46:11","slug":"hungry-mountain-lion-trapped-in-socal-familys-backyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/493145\/","title":{"rendered":"Hungry mountain lion trapped in SoCal family’s backyard"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Southern California family<\/a> trying to bust a beast attacking its pets by rigging a trap to catch the sneaky predator got the surprise of a lifetime when they found a mountain lion lurking inside.<\/p>\n

The Hernandez family noticed that several of its henhouse chickens and four cats had gone missing from their Fallbrook backyard in San Diego County<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Southern California family surprised to find mountain lion in backyard trap. FOX 5 San Diego<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a big hole on the rooftop and there were chickens missing and there were feathers all over the place,\u201d Sonia Hernandez told FOX 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The family thought a coyote was to blame, so her father-in-law decided to build a homemade trap to catch the culprit. They were shocked to later find a mountain lion<\/a> inside.<\/p>\n

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Fearing for her kids\u2019 safety, Sonia said the family called 911 \u2014 only for wildlife officials to arrive the following day and release the animal back into the wild. <\/p>\n

They wanted to catch whatever was stealing their chickens and caught a wild animal. FOX 5 San Diego<\/p>\n

California law requires any privately trapped mountain lion to be set free in the same area where it was caught.<\/p>\n

Hernandez said she understood that authorities were following protocol, but she and neighbors thought they would relocate the cougar to another area.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe weren\u2019t really happy about that because of our children and animals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She added that \u201cwe do have that fear it will come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sonia Hernandez said they thought it was a coyote stealing the chickens. FOX 5 San Diego<\/p>\n

The family was shocked to check the trap and find the lion just calmly sitting there. FOX 5 San Diego<\/p>\n

Neighbor Jeanette Villegas, who owns horses on her property, also expressed concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cReleasing that animal knowing it has a food source, I believe it may come back,\u201d Villegas said. \u201cAnd I walk the property in the evening to check on my animals, and who knows if it\u2019s watching me. It could be lurking behind a building, a bush, anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

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