City officials never knew for sure if there was indeed a mountain lion hiding up a tree in San Francisco’s Panhandle last month, according to internal messages sent between Animal Care & Control employees that were reviewed by the Chronicle.
After a Recreation and Parks ranger caught a brief glimpse of shining eyes in the tree the evening of Sept. 5, city officials cordoned off an area near Golden Gate Park with caution tape and released citywide safety alerts, warning the public to avoid the area. But after hours of waiting and peering through the tree’s branches, the big cat never made an appearance, leading to speculation that it may have skulked down the tree late at night.
But the messages between animal control and public safety officials, which were obtained through a public records request, show that there was never a consensus about whether the mountain lion was there at all…