Mountain lion captured near high school

SANTA FE (KRQE) - After two days of residents being on edge a game officer darted a mountain lion Wednesday after it sought refuge in an apple tree near Santa Fe High School.

The tranquilized 150-pound cat was taken to a veterinarian for treatment of a minor injury before being released in a remote section of the Carson National Forest, according to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.  It apparently is the same big cat suspected of taking up residence in a neighborhood near the state capitol.

"Although it apparently had spent at least a few days in a populated area, the lion was considered a candidate for relocation and release because it showed fear of humans in every encounter," a statement from the department said.

Game Office Brandon Griffith darted the cat about 10 a.m. after dogs had chased it into the tree near Siringo Road and Calle Navidád. Griffith said he believed the cat was the same one seen roving near Córdova Road and Don Gaspar Avenue on Tuesday because a minor injury to its right forepaw matched tracks found there.

The cat was captured about 2 miles from the Tuesday sightings and on the opposite side of St. Francis Drive, the main north-south thoroughfare through the city.

Griffith described the cougar as a mature male in very good health and weighing about 150 pounds.

The sightings of the animal on Tuesday prompted a warning from Game and Fish for residents in the area south of the state capitol not to let children or pets out from before dusk until after dawn and not to put out pet food or garbage that might attract the cat.