Mountain lion spotted Monday in the Oaks area, caution urged

SPPD officers responded to the area, and “We called state Fish and Game shortly thereafter, and they said they would have a 15 to 20 minute response time.” At one point the mountain lion was spotted in the Say Road area of the Oaks, and then it disappeared. One SPPD unit and Fish and Game personnel remained on scene, although it is believed the animal returned to a canyon area.Last month SPPD personnel shot and killed a mountain lion cub in the Dana Drive area after days of reported sightings of a group of up to five lions - a mixture of adults, at least one juvenile and cubs. Another sighting followed on February 21 when a lone mountain lion was spotted on Monte Vista Drive before it disappeared. Then came the unconfirmed March 14 report of a lion on Cherry Hill.Monday’s sighting of the mountain lion was the first to occur on the other side of busy Santa Paula-Ojai Road/Highway 150. Chief MacKinnon urges residents who spot a mountain lion to “immediately call 911, give us the location and the direction of travel, stay inside... and we’ll go from there.”