TUCSON, Ariz. — A special type of visitor stopped by Tucson Medical Center on Friday.
According to Tucson police, a mountain lion was spotted on the hospital's campus and appears to have gotten trapped in the enclosed courtyard area. Police officers and wildlife officials were dispatched to the hospital and successfully relocated the male mountain lion off the campus after tranquilizing the animal with a dart.
Aside from a broken window, no injuries were reported and the lion appears to be in healthy condition. Bystanders recorded video of the wandering mountain lion before it was removed, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Because the animal appeared healthy and did not exhibit aggressive behavior, the mountain lion will likely be fitted with a GPS radio collar and released into the wild, according to Arizona Game and Fish.
Wildlife officers successfully released the mountain lion back into the wild on Saturday.
The large medical facility is located in a central area of Tucson, making it more unlikely that an elusive animal like a mountain lion would venture onto the hospital's campus. It's not clear how the mountain lion got into the courtyard area.
The Tucson hospital is located near the Pantano wash, which cuts through the east side of Tucson. Washes can be used as movement corridors for mountain lions, according to Arizona Game and Fish.
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What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
