A nearly-100-pound mountain lion that tried to get inside Harrah's in Downtown Reno Friday morning is back in the wild.
The mountain lion was tranquilized and kept in Carson City overnight and early Saturday morning, officials headed toward Lake Tahoe.
"We successfully released it south of Spooner Summit way up in the mountains up above Lake Tahoe in Carson Valley," says Chris Healy, of the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
But the groggy two-year-old male mountain lion took his time returning to nature.
"This one waited for three whole minutes, almost to the exact second, before it finally poked its head out, looked around and took off," Healy explained.
NDOW fitted the mountain lion with a GPS unit so researchers can track its behavior. They hope the mountain lion will adapt quickly to its new surroundings.
"He has to find a place to be which is his own territory and that's not always easy to do," Healy said.
Experts predict that visits from wild creatures are far from over.
"We fully expect a very busy Autumn dealing with nuisance bears who are searching for food who may not be able to find it in the current drought we're in," Healy said.
A research student from the University of Nevada will be the one tracking the mountain lion. We're told her findings will better prepare officials for the next mountain lion sighting. NDOW says Friday's capture was quite successful, thanks to game wardens and the Reno Police Department.
Written by Rebecca Cronon
Channel 2 News
