Mountain lion visits two Milpitas neighborhoods

Milpitas, California - Early Wednesday morning, two Milpitas neighborhoods got a mountain lion visit, and it was all caught on camera. 

At 2a.m.,, a mountain lion was spotted on a security camera in the Milpitas Friendly Village Mobile Home Park. It popped up on the homeowner's cell phone while he was working, and he showed it to a friend.

Close up portrait of cougar. puma. mountain lion. panther (Puma concolor) big cat native to the Americas. (Photo by: Arterra/Philippe Clément/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"I thought it's a cat because a lot of cats in this area. I talked to my friend, and he said, 'No, it's a mountain lion,'" said Milpitas resident Ai Phi.

While it may be unusual for a mountain lion to come down into a trailer park, but there's plenty of mountainous territory right next to this community; territory for mountain lions to roam. Roaming house cats as well as racoons, possums and other urban wildlife can attract apex predators to their locations, even in urban neighborhoods. Most residents only heard about it later. 

"I've been in this community the last 24 years, and it's really surprising to find out that there's a mountain lion loose because there's a lot of kids out in this community," said resident Mel Magat.

According to the police, there's more. 

"Today, the Milpitas Police Department received two reports of sightings of a mountain lion in the residential areas of Milpitas. The second sighting was at about 4:30 in the morning in the residential area of Fairmeadow Way," said Milpitas Police Detective Michelle Sanchez. The second community is about 2 miles away from the first sighting, an easy walk for a mountain lion and well within the time needed to get there, especially since both neighborhoods back up against accessible rail tracks.

Though a double sighting may seem somewhat unusual, consider this: 51% of all American households have a security camera or several and thirty-seven percent have a video doorbell. That could account for all the sightings and video. 

"The homeowners were only aware of the sightings through video surveillance cameras," said Detective Sanchez. As brief as the sighting was, it was enough for residents to be concerned about. 

"I think that it may be he comes back, looking for food or something," said Mr. Phi.