MENDOCINO CO., 12/14/25 — Art director and animator Scott Bartholomew was happy that he awakened early Thursday morning. He checked his phone at 5:30 a.m. and saw that he had an alert from his driveway Google Nest Cam.
“I would have missed it if I’d woken up later,” he said. “The alert shows up on my phone, but if you don’t save it, it self-deletes after a few hours.”
This has never been an issue, as Bartholomew uses the camera to check on package deliveries.
The motion-activated camera has caught more than deliveries during the three years Bartholomew has had the system. Raccoons, foxes and bears have all made an appearance.
Bartholomew’s five-year-old son Tommy piped up at this point. “The raccoon went under the truck!”
But this was no raccoon. Instead, the camera had recorded a large mountain lion crossing the Bartholomews’ driveway, about a mile walk up Little Lake Road from the town of Mendocino.
Both father and son described seeing the big cat as “pretty cool,” though Tommy said his favorite cat is a cheetah, “because we’re both really fast.”
Marveled Dad, “Seeing those paws, just massive.”
Mountain lions have large ranges, so this one may not visit the Bartholomews’ driveway again for months. Males can range for 500 square miles, females for 300, always on the lookout for unwary deer, their favorite food, or, in a pinch, rabbits and squirrels.
Mountain lions are second only to jaguars as the largest cats in North America. They often venture close — or famously into — built-up areas but are shy and avoid humans whenever possible.
Those lucky enough to sight a lion in the wild should look big and back away, a good strategy for bears as well. Never corner or tease a lion or bear or get between a mother and kittens or cubs; both animals are as eager as people to emerge unscathed from an unwanted encounter.
Actually, their absolutely favorite food is not deer, but domestic cats. I understand that they see them as competition. I’ve lost many domestic cats to mountain lions over the years. I wouldn’t have a cat without having a medium to large dog, also, to protect it. I also knew someone who had a small dog taken off the end of the leash by a mountain lion, when she was walking it in her yard.
A sleeping Doberman was snatched and carried away by a mountain lion.
How is this news? Mountain lions are common throughout northern California.
Actually, throughout all of California.