People venturing into the wild hills of the Botanic Gardens or on the south edge of campus might receive friendly warnings to watch out for mountain lions. A persistent rumor holds that the big cats roam the more rugged parts of campus and nearby mountains.

Nestled against the Box Springs Mountains, with the 40-acre Botanic Gardens forming most of its southern border, the UC Riverside campus rubs shoulders with valuable habitat for many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects... https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2021/02/08/safari-uc-riverside