Mountain lions lurking: 1 killed by car in Oceanside, California, as sightings reported

A mountain lion was fatally struck by a car in Oceanside, California, on Friday night, just days after one was seen strolling through the city.

The San Diego Humane Society confirmed to USA TODAY that it was notified by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that Oceanside police responded to a single-vehicle collision at around 7:25 p.m. on Friday, where a mountain lion was found dead.

The driver of the car was not injured, NBC San Diego reported.

On Thursday night, police alerted residents to be on the lookout for wild animals after multiple mountain lion sightings near downtown, KTLA reported. A mountain lion was spotted walking around Mission Avenue in Oceanside at around 2 a.m. on March 5 by security guards on patrol.

“When we first saw it, it was rounding the corner,” security guard Markus Davis told KTLA. “We were able to scare it off with our spotlights.”

Mountain lion caught peering into movie theater

Security cameras at City Hall also captured the mountain lion roaming the plaza area and parking garages, and a janitor at Regal Cinemas also saw the mountain lion peering through the glass doors, KTLA reported.

The Oceanside Police Department and CDFW did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, but in a statement to KTLA Megan Senour with CDFW said the "behavior isn’t out of the ordinary. It’s just this is happening in more urban setting and folks are catching it on security cameras."

Lieutenant Michael Provence with Oceanside PD told KGTV that police could not confirm whether the mountain lion killed in the crash was the same one previously spotted in town.

"It’s difficult to say if it is the same lion that was being reported in the area this week as this is the time of year where young mountain lions will start to disperse and seek territory of their own," the San Diego Humane Society said in a statement to USA TODAY.

The mountain lion involved in the car crash was also a young male lion and was most likely a disperser, meaning it was starting to become independent and seeking an area to make its own, the San Diego Humane Society said.

The organization said if residents continue to spot mountain lions they should report them to CDFW.