San Francisco area couple awake to mountain lion killing a deer on their porch

 A San Francisco area couple woke up in the early morning hours to investigate

a sound that turned out to be a mountain lion attacking a deer on their front porch.

Mary Mines and Peter Rauenbuehler said they awoke to a sound outside their Hillsborough bedroom window about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday that they initially identified as a far less dangerous animal.

"I didn't have my glasses on so when I looked through the peephole I thought it was a coyote," Mines told KGO-TV. "And I turned to Peter and I said, 'There's a coyote on our front porch,' because we have a lot here. I opened the door and I looked and I said, 'That's not a coyote, that's a much bigger animal.'"

Mines quickly shut the door and the couple took to their window, where they saw the mountain lion.

Rauenbuehler posted a videoto Facebook showing the mountain lion dragging away the deer it had killed on their porch. The deer had apparently been eating flowers on the porch when the cougar attacked.

"He dragged the deer over the railing because there was deer hair over the top," Rauenbuehler said. "And the dogs didn't seem to intimidate the mountain lion at all. They were barking pretty crazy."

The couple said they had never seen a mountain lion so close before.

"We told the children to be careful when they're out and be aware," Mines said. "And to carry a stick or umbrella with them, to be big and loud if they see something."