A rare mountain lion was caught in an even rarer position when it climbed up and took a public perch atop a 35-foot utility pole in the California desert.
The big cat is believed to have been frightened by a passing bus of shouting school children and climbed up the wooden power pole Tuesday in Lucerne Valley, according to the Associated Press.
Two California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers who were at the scene had hoped that the cougar would climb back down sometime during the evening, reported the Daily Press of Victorville. However, it stayed the whole night and was gone by Wednesday morning.
John Hughan, an official with the Department of Fish and Widlife, said it was fortunate that the lion climbed down on it's own, noting that if it hadn't, getting it down would prove difficult since tranquilizing it would cause it to fall to into the power lines or onto the ground.
Jose Ruiz, an onlooker who lives across the street from the power pole, said that the cat suffered more than just stares from passerbys and the watchful gaze of the two officials who shooed the onlookers away, according to Fox News. Several birds were harassing the stranded animal, according to his testimony.
"It was funny," Ruiz said. "It was like the one crow was saying, 'Hey, you're not a crow.'"
While moutain lions aren't an uncommon sight in the area, no one who has seen one could say that they saw it on top of a utlity pole until Tuesday.
