ROOSEVELT — Two men found an unexpected guest after they entered a shed in the backyard of a Roosevelt home: a mountain lion.

Merlin Richens says he was preparing to show his son, Greg, some old traps in the shed Wednesday when the cougar leaped to within five feet of them.

He told the Deseret News that they fled the shed, closed the door and called 911.

State Division of Wildlife Resources biologists responded to the home, which is in a residential area less than a quarter mile from an elementary school and a hospital.

They used a tranquilizer gun to subdue the young male cougar and released it Thursday into a remote area of the Wasatch Mountains.

Wildlife officials say reports of cougars in residential areas are very rare.