La Canada Flintridge family captures video of mountain lion, bobcat in their backyard

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (KABC) -- A La Canada Flintridge family has had more than one feline backyard visitor at their home in the last few weeks, and they've captured photos and videos of the heart-stopping encounters.

One incident happened two weeks ago, Sue Hodge saw a mountain lion in the backyard.

"I was taking recycling out to the trash in the back, and as I turned the corner I looked over and could see out of the corner of my eye some white. I thought, 'That must be some kind of animal,'" she said.

Sue's retreat was caught on their security system. The video shows her running back into her home and telling her husband, "There's a mountain lion."

"My heart kind of stopped and I just thought, 'Don't run. Don't panic.' And I backed away," Sue said.

The Hodges think that may have been Nikita, an untagged female living in the Verdugo Mountains. It was the first big cat they had seen in more than 20 years of living in the area. But then Tuesday night, they got another rare visitor.

"I looked out and there was a bobcat over by our pool and I grabbed my camera," she said.

Jim Hodge said it was kind of exciting to see the wildlife coming to his home.

"It's exciting being kind of a wildlife refuge, but obviously there's a certain element of concern," he said.

The Hodges have seen everything from bears and deer to coyotes and raccoons, but they think the recent heat and drought may have brought their newest visitors to their doorsteps.

"It's kind of neat to live in this kind of environment where you see this. But you just have to keep your eyes open because over the decades we've taken over their habitat and it's dry and it's hot and they just kind of want to either come back and reclaim or get a good drink of water," Jim said.