A famous Hollywood-roaming mountain lion is severely underweight and may have been hit by a car – and could now be put down – wildlife experts have said.
The male cougar, known as P-22, whose recent killing of a dog on a lead raised concerns about its behaviour, probably will not be released back into the wild and could be sent to an animal sanctuary or euthanised, depending on its health, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
“Nobody is taking that kind of decision lightly,” spokesman Jordan Traverso said during a videoconference.
He said the agency knows “the importance of this animal to the community and to California”, adding: “We recognise the sadness of it.”
P-22 was caught and tranquillised on Monday in the trendy Los Feliz neighbourhood, near its usual haunt of Griffith Park, an island of wilderness and picnic areas in the midst of the Los Angeles urban sprawl.
Last week, state and federal wildlife officials said they were concerned the ageing cat “may be exhibiting signs of distress”, saying it needed to be studied to determine what steps to take.
Tuesday’s examination found the cat had an eye injury, probably after being hit by a car, and more tests will be done to determine if the animal suffered additional head trauma, said Deana Clifford, the senior wildlife veterinarian with the department.
A computerised tomography scan is scheduled for later this week to look into other possible chronic health issues which may have caused its decline, Ms Clifford said.
P-22 was first captured in 2012 and fitted with a GPS tracking collar as part of a National Park Service study.
The cougar is regularly recorded on security cameras strolling through residential areas near Griffith Park.
P-22 is believed to be about 12 years old, making him the oldest Southern California cougar currently being studied.
Most mountain lions live about a decade.
“This is an old cat, and old cats get old-cat diseases,” Ms Clifford said.
“Any of us who had cats at home have seen this.
“We’re working through all of those issues and we’ll take a totality of the findings into account to try to make the best decision we can for the cat.”
P-22 usually hunts deer and coyotes but in November the National Park Service confirmed he had attacked and killed a Chihuahua mix being walked in the narrow streets of the Hollywood Hills.
The cougar is also suspected of attacking another Chihuahua in the Silver Lake neighbourhood this month.
P-22 has lived much of his life in Griffith Park, crossing two major dual-carriageways to get there.
He was the face of a campaign to build a wildlife crossing over a Los Angeles-area dual-carriageway to give big cats, coyotes, deer and other wildlife a safe path to the nearby Santa Monica Mountains, where they have room to roam.
Ground was broken this year on the bridge, which will stretch 200 feet over US 101.
Construction is expected to be completed by early 2025.
