RENO -- Downtown folks got a surprise when a mountain lion was seen roaming through the area this morning.

This morning at around 05:16 A.M. officers of the Reno Police Department responded to 219 N. Center St., Harrah's Reno, on the report of a mountain lion underneath their outdoor stage venue.  Several guests had reported seeing the mountain lion running in the plaza and attempting to enter the casino through a revolving door.

Officers located the cat under the stage.  A perimeter was set up and measures were taken to ensure public safety.  The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), Reno Fire Department (RFD), and REMSA responded to assist.  Thanks to an excellent coordinated effort by all agencies, an NDOW officer was able to successfully tranquilize the animal.  NDOW and RFD personnel removed the mountain lion, an approximately 70-80 pound young male lion in good health, from under the stage.

The lion was ear tagged by NDOW and will be fitted with a tracking collar as part of a University of Nevada Reno Mountain Lion Study.  The collar will allow researchers to monitor the cat’s movements and habits.  NDOW is transporting the mountain lion to an appropriate area where it will be released back into the wild.

No citizens or emergency personnel were injured during the incident.