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Possible mountain lion spotted in Scripps Ranch

An exciting morning for a local family after spotting what they believe was a mountain lion behind their house.

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - An exciting morning for a local family after spotting what they believe was a mountain lion behind their house. 

It isn't very often you wake up in the morning to the sight of a mountain lion but that's exactly what happened to a Scripps Ranch family Monday morning.

If you look closely at the video, you can see it, right there on the ridge. That's what Kathy Camp woke up to while she was staying with her parents in Scripps Ranch. It was a sight she just had to share with her son JT.

"And then I ran to get my camera and video it. And then I ran and got my son because I couldn't get like a good picture and and I was like how do you zoom in...woke him up," Kathy said. 

"The way she woke me up it was the funniest thing. She's like oh my God it's a mountain lion get up. It's a mountain lion go go go," JT said. 

They managed to record video of a mountain lion roaming the open space behind their home.

"It kind of came this way and it looked like it was gong to the pool to get some water or something and then it turned...might have heard us talking and then it turned at an angle and started walking towards the ridge," Kathy said. 

"It just kind of blended in. And like the early morning fog like really concealed it. I was really surprised on how well they camouflaged in," JT said. 

Shocking, but not necessarily surprising. Southern California has had its fair share of sightings. In 2011, one was hit and killed by a car in 4S Ranch. A year later, one was spotted in a La Jolla back yard. Also that year up north in Santa Monica, one was found in an office complex and had to be shot.

Online the Department of Fish and Wildlife has some safety tips when it comes to mountain lions. Don't jog alone especially when the sun goes down and they're active. And if you do see one, don't run, make noise and wave your arms. And if an attack happens -- fight back.

"I wasn't really too scared. Because you know you're in the house they can't get in," JT said. 

JT says he's been sending the video out to friends all day and even plans to put it on YouTube.

"I'm pretty sure the second I get back to school on Tuesday I'm going to be like, 'hey guess what? I was on the news' and like all this," he said. 

A cool experience, that he and his mom will remember for a long time.

"It's pretty cool you know. One of them experiences you're gonna remember," JT said. 

For more information and tips on what to do if you see a mountain lion, click here>>.

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