A mountain lion in a casino? Don’t roulette out
In this photo released by the Reno Police Department on Friday Aug. 24,2012 showing a tranquilized mountain lion that wandered into a downtown Reno entertainment plaza and hid under a stage. Officials planned to tag the animal and check its health before releasing it back into the wild. (AP Photo/Reno Police Department)
RENO, Nev. >> An underage mountain lion has been caught after trying to slip into a casino in downtown Reno, Nev., ahead of the breakfast rush.
Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy says the young male cat’s behavior was “almost the equivalent of being a stupid teenager.”
Healy says coming-of-age cougars often end up where they shouldn’t after being chased out of a territory by adults.
Guests at Harrah’s reported seeing the 100-pound cat trying to walk into the casino Friday morning. When the animal couldn’t negotiate the revolving door, it hid under an outdoor stage in a nearby plaza.
State wildlife officials tranquilized the roughly 2-year-old cat and plan to release it into the wild after tagging it for participation in a University of Nevada, Reno study.
No injuries were reported.
