SANTA MONICA—On August 26, a local resident spotted a large mountain lion taking a cat nap in the shade on her patio. With Wednesday’s temperatures reaching 101 degrees, the large reportedly took a cool drink from the pool before reclining by the sliding-glass-door.
The Cougar visited the home of Andrea Bailey who resides in the Royal Woods neighborhood, which is situated in a hilly subdivision, against the northern slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains. This is the area near Mullholland Drive and Sepulveda Pass.
Bailey captured the incident on her surveillance cameras and posted the pictures on her social media pages describing the mountain lion encounter.
“This huge cat sprawled across the slider, leaning up against the glass. Just sat down with him against the glass, probably just a couple of inches from him. So, it was just this incredible experience.”—Andrea Bailey
According to Bailey, the Puma took about an hour’s nap and then meandered off. A neighbor’s surveillance video captured the mountain lion walking on the sidewalk, and in the neighbor’s yard.
There has been an increase in wildlife encounters reported in Los Angeles County. Wildlife experts have indicated that the heat wave may be pushing the mountain lions, coyotes… into the Valley to find water, and get some sort of respite from the heat.
The temperatures recorded for Wednesday, August 26 in Sherman Oaks reached a high of 101 degrees with an overnight low temperature of 75 degrees.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Mountain Lions usually avoid people. They do have a list on their website of documented Mountain Lion attacks from 1890 until 2025.
The most recent documented mountain lion attack was in August 2025, in Malibu involving an 11-year-old girl.
CDFW reminds the public how to avoid human vs. wildlife conflicts on their website with the following information.
Preventing Human-Wildlife Conflict
“Do not provide food or water for wildlife. Feeding wildlife does more harm than good.
Certain wildlife species such as black bears, bobcats, coyotes, deer, and mountain lions can be displaced into urban areas after a fire.
Do not attempt to rehabilitate wild animals if you are not a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. This places humans, pets, and wildlife at risk. An untrained person may unintentionally prolong suffering and reduce the chance of the wild animal being able to return to the wild.”
