This is the moment Colorado wildlife officials release a fearsome puma into the wild after finding it under a city resident’s porch and tranquilising it.

The big cat was found under a resident’s decking in the city of Boulder in the county of the same name located in the US state of Colorado on the morning of 27th February.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said in a statement the same day: “Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers, with a helping hand from Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks (OSMP) and Boulder Police Animal Protection Officers, removed a mountain lion that was under a porch at a residence on 23rd Street and Panorama Ave. Sunday morning.

“Homeowners reported the mountain lion at 7:30 a.m. right after seeing the cat. Their dog alerted the family that something was in the backyard underneath the decking that had roughly only a foot of clearance from the ground.

“The homeowner went to see what it was, thinking it was possibly a raccoon that they often find in the area, but upon looking with a flashlight noticed it was a mountain lion and called authorities.

“OSMP Rangers and a Boulder PD Animal Protection Officer were the first to arrive on-scene. Once CPW Wildlife Officer Tyler Asnicar arrived, he tranquillized the mountain lion and they pulled it out from under the porch just before 10 a.m.”

The mountain lion was relocated and released in a remote area in Larimer County by 1pm the same day.

CPW said: “It was a sub-adult male mountain lion, in good body condition, weighing approximately 115-120 pounds.”

Officer Asnicar said: “One factor we look at is location when we get cats that come into town. This one was pretty far east in Boulder in a populated area and it is not a good situation to have a big predator like that close to so many people. It is better for the people and the cat to try to move it. Relocation was our best approach in this case.”

Since 15th January, CPW has received 17 reports of pumas in Boulder, not including Sunday’s call.

Officer Asnicar said: “Leading up to this over the past couple weeks, we’ve had several pets taken in town by a sub-adult lion, probably siblings in town. They’ve been spotted a lot in north Boulder. This may or may not have been one of those cats, but increased winter activity is fairly typical as they follow their prey base down, and particularly the mule deer that move into lower elevations this time of year.

“The cats concentration around the western edge of town and that leads to an increase in sightings and probably led to this cat being in town looking for something to eat.

“Cats are going to come and go, it is not a new thing and it isn’t going to go away, so know that if you are out and about in town you have a chance of coming upon a mountain lion or other predators as well like bears, coyotes and foxes.

“So keep an eye on your pets, keep an eye on your kids and teach them what to do if they were to encounter a mountain lion or bear.”