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Two schools in Minnesota were briefly placed on lockdown after a mountain lion was spotted roaming nearby, asking students to take precautions.
A school resource officer at Orion East Middle School said the mountain lion was within a half-mile of the Duluth campus on Wednesday. Administrators immediately implemented a “safe situation”, keeping students inside until classes continued. Nearby Congdon Park Elementary School implemented the same measure.
Duluth Public Schools spokesperson Adele Wellens said Orion East Middle School and Congdon Park Elementary implemented a secure state of emergency at 1:36 p.m. after police received a report of the sighting. Congdon removed the position at 2 pm, with Ordian also removing the position shortly thereafter.
“We believe it has moved forward,” Wellens said.
District officials consulted with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) about the mountain lion, which was wearing a tracking collar. Minnesota Star Tribune Informed. However, the device does not belong to the DNR, making the agency unable to monitor its activities. It is unclear who originally placed the collar on the animal.
DNR furbearer and wolf research biologist John Erb said. Duluth News Tribune The agency began receiving reports in early September when the animal was first spotted near Fergus Falls.
“Then we got a lot of pictures that helped us track it down more easily,” Erb said.
Erb said mountain lions can be identified by ear tags and radio collars that no longer work. The DNR is “99 percent certain it came from Nebraska as part of a study,” he said. A Nebraska biologist involved in that project reviewed the photos and believed the animal to be a 2-year-old male that had previously been collared for research.
The Duluth Police Department urged residents not to approach the animal.
“The Duluth Police Department has been made aware of a sighting of a mountain lion/cougar in Duluth,” the department said in a news release. “We have been in contact with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and they are also aware of the animal. At this time, law enforcement will not be taking any further action.”
This week’s encounter marks the second time this year Duluth schools have implemented emergency animal-related protocols Duluth News Tribune Informed. Earlier this spring, Lowell Elementary School was put on hold after a bear wandered onto school grounds. Despite recent events, Wellens said such precautions remain unusual.
“Like any wild animal, we want to remind the community that you should use caution in their presence and never approach them,” Duluth Police said.