by: Tony Shin
Posted: Feb 20, 2026 / 05:31 PM PST
Updated: Feb 20, 2026 / 05:31 PM PST
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FALLBROOK, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — A San Diego County family got an unexpected and unsettling surprise this week when a mountain lion turned up in a backyard trap set to catch whatever had been killing their animals.
The discovery came after several animals went missing from the Hernandez family property in Fallbrook, including chickens kept in a henhouse and four cats, one of which was pregnant.
“There was a big hole on the rooftop and there were chickens missing and there were feathers all over the place,” said Sonia Hernandez.Officials rescue injured mountain lion cub found in Castaic roadway
Hernandez said her mother-in-law was especially upset about the missing cats.
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“She was going to have babies soon,” Hernandez said about one of the cats.
Believing a coyote was responsible, Hernandez’s father-in-law built a cage trap and set it on the property.
On Thursday night, Hernandez’s husband checked the trap and found a mountain lion calmly lying inside.
“So he woke everybody up, and we got up, and we were all surprised how big it was and how it looked,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said her immediate concern was for her three children, ages 5 to 9.
She said that she and her family breathed a sigh of relief, then wondered what to do next after having a mountain lion in their possession.
Hernandez called 911. On Friday morning, state wildlife officials, including a warden, arrived at the home. The cougar was released from the trap and ran off.Wild video shows bears charging across busy Northern California ski slope
The decision to release the animal surprised and frustrated the family, who had expected it would be relocated far from their rural neighborhood.
“We weren’t really happy about that because of our children and animals,” Hernandez said.
Some neighbors shared those concerns.
Jeanette Villegas, who owns horses on her property, said she worries the mountain lion could return.
“Releasing that animal knowing it has a food source, I believe it may come back,” Villegas said. “And I walk the property in the evening to check on my animals, and who knows if it’s watching me. It could be lurking behind a building, a bush, anything.”
Hernandez said she understands that wildlife officials must follow protocol, even if she disagrees with the outcome.
“The way they explained it to us, hopefully he doesn’t, but we do have that fear it will come back,” she said.
According to wildlife officials, state law requires that any mountain lion that is privately trapped must be released in the same general area where it was captured.
Exposing the Big Game 