Cougar sighting prompts school lockdown in Coronation, Alta.

Students were forced into a lockdownsituationatCoronation School after a cougar was spotted roaming around the small Alberta town on Monday.

RCMP said the cougar was first reported in the vicinity of the Coronation Hospital shortly after noon and Mounties quickly confirmed the animal's presence.

"Coronation School was immediately notified and locked down while police searched and notified residents in the area where the cougar was last seen travelling,"RCMPsaid in a release.

• Cougar treed by wild dogs west of Calgary caught on camera
• VIDEO |Cougar encounter captured on video by Alberta runner
• Cougar shot in west Edmonton backyard

Alberta Fish andWildlife was notified but officers were unable to get to the town before the cougar left the area.

The school lockdown was lifted once RCMP confirmed the cougar was gone, and nofurther sightings were reported to police.

Coronation is about 300 kilometres northeast of Calgary.