Mountain lion visits California back yard, swims across lake

March 22 (UPI) -- Residents of a California neighborhood said they were surprised to spot a mountain lion hanging out in their back yard -- and even more surprised to see it swim across a lake.

Valerie Strowski said she was awakened about 1:20 a.m. by a loud noise outside her Mission Viejo home, and her husband checked the security cameras to discover there was a mountain lion in the back yard.

The couple watched as the cougar spent about 15 minutes on their dock before diving into Lake Mission Veijo.

"Saw it looking in the water and I thought there's no way, there's no way it's going to do this -- but I had a really weird feeling it was -- and it dove into the water," Strowski told KTLA-TV.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office was contacted by neighbors who spotted the mountain lion wandering through their properties and deputies arrived in time to see the feline swimming across the lake.

Mission Viejo Animal Services said officials are reviewing security camera footage from local residents. The department said officers are keeping an eye out for the animal.