Mountain lion prompts lockdown at Aptos High School

APTOS — The campus at Aptos High School went into a shelter in place Tuesday after multiple reports of a mountain lion on campus.

Principal Alison Hanks-Sloan told the Sentinel that the front office began receiving calls from parents around 12:59 p.m. Tuesday reporting the lion near the school’s baseball field. The animal reportedly was walking on a trail toward the school’s main entrance/archway, then continued along a fence where the campus driveway intersects with Freedom Boulevard.

Hanks-Sloan said the lockdown lasted until about 1:28 p.m.

While the campus was sheltering in place, the school resource officer, a member of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department , called backup and did a campus sweep to ensure the mountain lion had left.

Because the reports from families were that the lion had already left the campus, Hanks-Sloan said the school elected not to involve any wildlife groups while investigating the issue.

“It’s the joy of having a school right in the middle of a canyon/valley,” said Hanks-Sloan.