18 mountain lion reports in IE neighborhood in July

RANCHO CUCAMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- An Inland Empire neighborhood is being inundated with mountain lion sightings. Some residents are at times, afraid to leave their homes with their pets. One homeowner says a big cat took off with one of his dogs.

Rancho Cucamonga resident Fred Gilley says one of his poodles was killed by a mountain lion last Friday night around 9 p.m.

"We saw the footprint from over here in the corner where he jumped over the wall," said Gilley.

Moments later, they realized one of their poodles was gone.

"All of a sudden I see this huge thing jump up on the wall, and it scared me half to death," said Rancho Cucamonga resident Andrea Duber.

Mountain lions are known to live in the foothills. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department says deputies have responded to 18 calls regarding mountain lions in the area in July alone.

"A lot of the neighbors are just a little bit afraid to walk, and our neighborhood usually does a lot of walking and exercising," said Rancho Cucamonga Lisa Miller.

While this area is technically part of the wildland interface, many neighbors are surprised just how far these mountain lions are traveling. The foothills are more than a mile and a half away.

"I can't believe how far they came down," said Duber. "I heard there was one that was even further down, by the actual freeway down there, so that's really far down."

She's talking about what happened about three weeks ago, in Beryl Park by the 210 Freeway. Sheriff's deputies say they had to kill a mountain lion.

Residents want their neighbors to be cautious.

"I warned them about their little dogs. The lady around the corner I warned her about the dogs, so we're all concerned about it," said Fred Gilley.