Staff at the Berkeley Lab are being warned to avoid walking or jogging alone and using isolated walkways at dusk or nighttime after a female mountain lion with her cubs was sighted between Buildings 65 and 88 at around 5:00 am this morning.
Lab spokesperson Jon Weiner confirmed the Lab sent out an internal memo to its staff this morning to warn them to be alert and to take precautions. “There were apparently deer in the vicinity of where the mountain lion was spotted,” he said.
The Lab has posted signs around its campus and at its entrance gates, and has a webpage devoted to the subject that is continually updated for its employees and guests.
“Mountain lions generally exist where deer are found, as was the case this morning,” reads the internal email. “Warning signs have been placed at walkways and gate entrances. As a precaution, the use of isolated stairs/walkways at dusk, night, or dawn is discouraged. Warning signs have been placed at all Lab gates. To limit an interaction with a mountain lion, avoid hiking or jogging in the undeveloped areas of the Lab alone or at dawn, dusk or night.”
Lab employees are being advised to call an internal emergency phone number or 911 if they see a mountain lion.
A mountain lion and her cubs was spotted on July 19 on Gayley Road near the Greek Theater, according the the UC Berkeley Police. And last year, there were several sightings of mountain lions in the hills above campus and hikers also found carcasses of deer and other animals, providing further evidence that mountain lions were living nearby.
Two years ago, a mountain lion made its way down from the hills and wandered through Gourmet Ghetto before it was shot and killed by police. The mountain lion was spotted around 2 am on August 31, 2010 in the parking lot of what was then Elephant Pharmacy. Police shot it on Walnut Street.
Read how to reduce the chance of encountering and being attacked by a mountain lion in our July 24 story.
Related:
Mountain lion and her cubs spotted in Berkeley hills [07.24.12]
Mountain lion possibly spotted at UC apartments Tuesday [01.12.12]
Mountain lion tours Gourmet Ghetto [8.31.10]
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