When I lived in the East SF Bay area (Dublin, CA) they would spot mountain lions occasionally on the arm reserve base over the hill,. About a week or so later, there would be reports of them in the mountains about 2 miles to the west. The only way for them to get there was through my neighborhood. Through the middle of the neighborhood was a rails to trails. Never walked down that at night.
Was a report of a complete lion skeleton up in the hills once. The cops found one hit by a car on the side of the interstate. On that ridge, they would find half eaten deer carcasses. The lions would take a meal up there and watch the cars go by on the interstate. Once a mountain lion showed up about noon in an apartment complex in Pleasanton, CA (where Madden lives). Another time a mountain lion was spotted at the gate of the Livermore National Lab. The anti-nuke people were doing their yearly demonstration at the gate on Good Friday. The cops warned the demonstrators but they did it anyway. Yje lion stayed there in place. The cops later shot it and found out it had broken keg from being hit by a car.