Hollywood’s celebrity wild mountain lion ‘breaks into city zoo and kills koala’

A wild mountain lion is suspected of mauling to death a koala at Los Angeles Zoo. The big cat, known as P-22, is thought to have scaled a 9ft fence to get into the enclosure and kill the 14-year-old female, called Killarney. P-22, which wears a tag and was famously photographed in front of the Hollywood sign, was caught on CCTV near the zoo on the same night. Zoo officials have moved the remaining 10 koalas indoors around the clock, with most of the other zoo animals moving inside every night.

The evidence is circumstantial. We don’t have any video of it taking the koala. We can’t say 100%

Zoo director John Lewis

The seven-year-old big cat has gained a measure of celebrity following several sightings across Los Angeles. Last year, it was discovered hiding in the crawl space under a house - but then stole away undetected in the night. It has been caught, tagged and released into the wild by scientists who are tracking its movements. The latest incident has sparked renewed debate about its future, with some suggesting it should be relocated where it can more easily find a mate. However, zoo director John Lewis disagreed, saying: There’s a lot of native wildlife in this area. This is their home. So we’ll learn to adapt to P-22 just like he’s learned to adapt to us.“

Regardless of what predator killed the koala, this tragedy just emphasizes the need to contemplate relocating P-22 to a safer, more remote wild area where he has adequate space to roam without the possibility of human interaction

Los Angeles City Council member Mitch O'Farrell

mountain lion