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LAS VEGAS SUN > NEWS > U.S. > NEVADA
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January 02, 2008
Authorities catch mountain lion in Las Vegas neighborhood




LAS VEGAS (AP) - Police captured a more than 100-pound mountain lion in a Las Vegas neighborhood Wednesday, authorities said.

Police and animal control officials tracked the animal to a back yard after it eluded capture early in the day and then reappeared Wednesday afternoon.

The animal was tranquilized and captured without incident, Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said. It was handed over the Nevada Division of Wildlife and will be released in a less densely populated environment, he said.

No injuries were reported.

Authorities estimated the mountain lion weighed between 100 pounds and 110 pounds.

It was first seen in a gated community about 12 miles northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Residents were told to remain indoors, and children at a nearby middle school during winter break were locked down while officials searched the neighborhood after the initial 10 a.m. sighting.

Police gave up after three hours, and then got another call.

"It did what all good suspects do," Cassell said. "It waited for the cops to leave and then took a walk down the street."