Mountain lions in Oceanside star in episode of Big-Cat Bachelorette

A family in northern Oceanside got a big surprise when they woke up Wednesday and checked their doorbell-camera video.

Rosalie Richards lives with her elderly mother in a home that butts up against the southern section of Camp Pendleton. Turns out they had some visitors at a little after 2 a.m., but neither she, her mom nor her dachshund, Riddles, heard a thing when a pair of mountain lions leapt her 4-foot backyard fence.

“The camera went off at 2:14, and I was like, ‘OK, well, you know, it’s someone walking or something, or a coyote or a racoon,’ ” Richards said. “So I wasn’t really thinking it was going to be something as wonderful as it was.”

The big cats made their way through the yard before arriving at Richards’ front entranceway. On the video, you can see — and hear a smaller mountain lion as it appears, laying down on the concrete a few moments later when a second, much larger cougar shows up and lingers.

It’s not the first time Richards had seen wildlife, mentioning sightings of coyotes, raccoons, even bobcats.

Although Richards is no expert, of course, she does have thoughts.

“She’s — from her sound — she’s definitely in heat,” Richards said. “And they just, you know, hung out on my driveway and had their little meeting. And then they walked off together.”

Richards reaction when she watched the video?

“I was in awe, first off,” Richards said, adding, with a laugh later, “and then it was like: Don’t take your trash out at night.”

The big cats didn’t go back the way they came, Richards said. Instead, they headed farther into their housing complex. Animal lovers will recall an earlier, unrelated sighting last year when a mountain lion was spotted ALL the way into Oceanside, down near the movie theatre just blocks from the pier.

After the visit by the mountain lions, Richards shared the video with her daughter, who lives about three miles away in Oceanside, and she posted it to Facebook to warn neighbors that the animals are around and that they should keep a close eye on their kids and pets.

Update: Richards said the smaller of the two mountain lions appears to have returned to her house again early on Friday morning — Ed.