Wildlife officials relocate captured mountain lion at Tucson hospital

PHOENIX — A mountain lion that wandered onto the grounds of an Arizona hospital last week has been captured and released into the wild, authorities said.

Arizona Department of Fish and Game officials were notified that the big cat was trapped in the courtyard of the Tucson Medical Center around 10:30 a.m. Friday.

The hospital is located near Grant and Craycroft roads in the northern part of the southern Arizona city.

With the help of the Tucson Police Department, wildlife officers used darts to tranquilize the animal without harming it about two hours later.

The cougar, an adult male, was then transported to the Game and Fish regional office in Tucson.

Authorities determined the animal was healthy and non-aggressive, so they fitted it with a GPS radio collar and released it into the wild outside the Tucson area on Saturday.

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