Mountain lion roams through Granada Hills school campus, neighborhood

GRANADA HILLS, Calif (FOX 11 / CNS) - A mountain lion made its way onto a Granada Hills high school campus on Friday before state game wardens tranquilized it and hauled it away.

Callers began reporting seeing the big cat about 7 a.m. at John F. Kennedy High School in the 11200 block of Gothic Avenue, causing school officials to lock down the campus, said Andrew Hughan of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The school's mascot happens to be a cougar.

Los Angeles police officers arrived and cordoned off the area before game wardens got to the scene about an hour later and shot the animal with tranquilizers.

The woozy lion then wobbled to a halt in a nearby yard before it was taken away in a truck at around 1 p.m.

The mountain lion, which was not tagged or known to fish and game officials.

"That's as specific as I want to be,'' he said, adding that he doesn't want anyone "going after'' the cat.

He said the creature had crossed through the Knollwood golf course -- likely pursuing a meal of rabbit, deer or even a dog -- and ended up well into a residential area.

"That's typically what happens in (these situations),'' Hughan said.

The cat's gender, weight and approximate age were not immediately available.

Copyright 2016 FOX 11 Los Angeles: Download our mobile app for breaking news alerts or to watch FOX 11 News | Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Be a citizen journalist for FOX 11 and get paid - download the Fresco News App today.