Courtesy Paul Shippey

A mountain lion captured in north Boulder on Monday night is inspected by state wildlife officers.

Courtesy Paul Shippey

A mountain lion is captured in north Boulder on Monday.

Paul Shippey heard a noise outside his north Boulder home early Sunday morning, so he went to investigate.

"I wandered around with a flashlight and saw this movement in the bushes," he said.

What he eventually found was a large male mountain lion lying in the bushes, feasting on a recently killed deer.

"It was about four feet away," he said. "I kind of backpedaled slowly."

For three hours, Shippey and his neighbors stood on a porch watching the lion nap and gnaw on its deer, which apparently was killed overnight on Shippey's driveway in the 600 block of Locust Avenue -- just east of Foothills Community Park.

Colorado Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said Tuesday that because of the proximity to the residents, state wildlife officers set a trap to catch the lion Monday night.

By nightfall, Shippey said, the big cat had already gone for the bait and was firmly locked in the cage.

Wildlife officers arrived soon after and tranquilized the lion.

Churchill said the lion was previously tagged by the DOW -- to track its movements and habits as part of the Front Range Mountain Lion Study -- and was relocated to its proper hunting grounds overnight.

"I don't think he got into any trouble except for the fact he was taking deer in the neighborhood," she said. "We don't want him making a habit of it."

Churchill said the cat was one of 15 being tracked by the state, to help wildlife biologists better understand how many mountain lions there are in the state, and how to manage their territories.

There were 18 cougars in the study initially, Churchill said, but two were killed by cars and one died from an attack from a dominant male lion.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Heath Urie at 303-473-1328 or urieh@dailycamera.com.