UPDATE: “Wild Feline Animal” was Stalking Backyard Chickens in San Anselmo

A San Anselmo resident called the San Anselmo Police Thursday morning after spotting what they thought was a mountain lion in the backyard of their home on the 100 block of Rosemont Avenue.

Twin Cities Police Authority Srgt. Hamid Khalili said the police can’t confirm if it was a mountain lion and are, instead, referring to the critter as “some type of wild feline animal.”

The feline was reportedly stalking backyard chickens when the resident called the police at 8:40 a.m. on Sept. 6. “Then it jumped over the fence and took off,” Khalili said.

He said the feline ran behind Rosemont toward Camino de Herrera.

One officer, who thought they spotted the big cat near the property, said it looked more like a bobcat or a feral cat, Khalili said. 

There haven’t been many mountain lion sightings reported to the police recently in the Ross Valley, but commenters on our Facebook page and on this article make it sound like there has definitely been a big cat around town.

Commenter said below that he’s a neighbor and saw the feline with the officer. “The officer wasn't sure if it was a bobcat or a mountain lion. My own guess is that it was a fairly small mountain lion. We also found the feathers from one very recently killed chicken.”

On our Facebook page, Nathan Shimek said there have been "a lot of [mountain lion] sightings this summer between Bolinas Ridge and Bald Hill."

Christina Bryan Fitzgibbons wrote that the feline sighting might explain the mutilated deer she encountered “on the bridge leading into Brookside off Butterfield last Sunday.”

And Andree Schreiber said the sighting “might explain the missing chickens in Fairfax.” 

 commented below that there have been bobcat sightings in Fairfax and the "little bugger is stealing chickens from houses along the creek."

It seems like Rosemont Avenue gets plenty of press when it comes to wild animals. reminded us that earlier this summer a cat living on the same street survived a coyote attack.

If residents see a mountain lion, or any other wild cat, they should stay inside and close their doors and windows, Khalili said. If the animal is encountered outside, people should make as much noise as possible and make themselves look as big as they can -  stand up tall and wave your arms in the air – to scare the animal away. 

Have you spotted a mountain lion lately? and e-mail Editor Jessica Mullins about it at Jessica.mullins@patch.com. 

On August 2, someone lying down at the end of Lincoln Park.

In July, in the middle of Mill Valley Reservoir.

Follow us! We told our Facebook and Twitter followers about the mountain lion sighting almost an hour before we posted it as breaking news. 

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