Remains Of Mountain Lion Known As P-55 Found
MALIBU (CBSLA) — The remains of a young mountain lion who made the news earlier this year for peering through the door of a Westlake Village home have been found, according to the National Park Service.
P-55 was estimated to be just three years old, but biologists say he had already crossed the busy 101 Freeway twice – first heading north, then crossing to go back south of the freeway.
The lion, whose cause of death is not known, was found in the central Santa Monica Mountains, in the hills above Malibu, National Park Service Ranger Kate Kuykendall said. P-55's collar had failed to signal his death, and by the time biologists found his remains, they were already too decomposed to make a determination.
P-55 seemed to be healthy, Kuykendall said, so it's possible he died of rodenticide poisoning or fought with another male lion, although there are no signs of a struggle where the lion's remains were found.
The lion was photographed in February by a Westlake Village mother, whose son spotted P-55 peering in through their sliding glass door. He generally roamed the northwest end of the Santa Monica Mountains, west of Las Virgines Road and north of Mulholland.
