YUCAIPA, Calif., Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Officers in California killed a mountain lion, which had recently preyed on house pets, after finding it in a residential backyard, authorities said.
A sergeant and a deputy from San Bernardino County's sheriff's department shot the cat when they responded to a call from a house in Yucaipa, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Wednesday.
In the last few days, a wild animal killed a neighborhood dog, and a cat from the house next door to the one where the mountain lion was shot had been carried off, police said.
"It's a heavily residential area, and in an instance like that, there's really no waiting around because there are kids around and the animal is so fast," sheriff's Lt. Mike Newcombe said.
The mountain lion was quite dangerous because it was young, underweight and far from its natural habitat, Kevin Brennan, a wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game, said.
"It was probably making a living off pets. It's not very common to have them move that far down into town," Brennan said.
