Sep 18, 2006 7:08 pm US/Mountain
Wild Animal Breaks Into CU Student's Apartment
by Shaun Boyd
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Mountain lion sightings around Boulder aren't unusual but the cats usually show up in backyards … not bedrooms.
A student at the University of Colorado believes a cougar broke into her place while she was camping this weekend.
When Lindsey Katapski arrived home from her trip, she thought a burglar had broken the windows in her bedroom.
When she looked closer, Katapski noticed a tuft of blonde-covered fur.
"That's what, to me, pointed to a mountain lion because I don't know any blonde raccoons, do you?" Katapski said.
Whatever it was, it crashed through the window and out of another, leaving shards of glass everywhere.
As neighborhood dogs barked, the animal escaped without being seen or apparently injured. There was no blood but the Division of Wildlife is testing the fur.
"We don't know what it was and that adds to the mystery and it adds to how relieved we are that she wasn't in there," said Julie Johnson with Boulder Open Space.
There have been several cougar sittings in the area in the last week and the neighborhood has plenty of prey, but the break-in is still bizarre.
"That's actually the really mind-bending thing, you don't want any sort of wild animal in bed while you're asleep much less a big cat," Katapski said. "Ironically I was out camping afraid of mountain lions and here one was in my bed while I was gone."
Boulder rangers said they've also had bear sightings recently because it's hibernating season. They're reminding people not to leave out trash, pet food or bird feeders.
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