Parker – Two cougar sightings, though unproven, prompted Parker police and state wildlife officials to tell residents in the Hidden River subdivision to be careful Thursday.
A sighting Wednesday was dismissed after officials searched the area and found no evidence of a big cat. But Thursday morning, another neighborhood resident near Pioneer Elementary School reported seeing a cougar.
“There is a possibility that a mountain lion could wander into this area,” said Tim Holeman, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Morning recess was canceled at Pioneer Elementary, as well as at Frontier Valley Elementary, about 3 miles away, while authorities investigated.
The schools returned to normal schedules by lunchtime.
Authorities didn’t find any tracks or other evidence of a mountain lion, Holeman said.
Sara Walla, spokeswoman for the Parker Police Department, said school monitors were asked to pay special attention as children played outside, arrived and left the school. Extra police patrols were assigned to the area.
A mountain lion roaming in a subdivision, such as Hidden River, is unlikely, said Wendy Keefover-Ring of Boulder-based Sinapu, a wildlife organization. The neighborhood is 10 to 15 miles from the nearest normal habitat for a cougar, separated by heavily urban corridors, she noted. Mountain lions, which ambush prey, depend on forest and brush to hunt.
“They’re not just going to walk across the prairie,” Keefover-Ring said.
