Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced that officials from CPW, the Boulder Police Department, and Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks worked together on August 1 to successfully sedate and relocate a mountain lion that “had been hanging around the east side of Boulder for a week or two.” The mountain lion was sedated with a dart and her health was monitored up until her release.
CPW said that it had attempted to relocate the animal before, but the conditions “were not ideal.” The department said that everything lined up on Friday for the relocation to occur successfully.
“We place a mask on its face to keep the lion calm and monitor oxygen levels,” the department said in a post on X regarding the process of the capture and relocation. “Hobbles are attached to its legs for an easier way to carry.”
The department studied the mountain lion’s teeth size and condition to determine that she is an older adult female lion.
“We believe it's the same mountain lion involved in the dog conflict a few weeks ago,” said Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Northeast Region Public Information Officer Kara Van Hoose.
A mountain lion attack on a dog occurred in North Boulder on July 25 at around 9:30 p.m. in the 2400 block of Balsam Avenue. Residents of the neighborhood were walking their small dog, Bodhi, when a mountain lion appeared and jumped on their dog, killing it instantly.
The specific location where the mountain lion was released was not stated by CPW. Van Hoose said “she is in better mountain lion habitat.”
