Deputies searching home seize stuffed mountain lion carcass

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Authorities in California said they executed a search warrant on a home and ended up seizing an illegally-possessed stuffed mountain lion.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said deputies from the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station and California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers executed the search warrant on Saturday on suspicion of illegal possession of a protected mammal's carcass.

The investigators seized a taxidermied cougar found mounted above the fireplace of the Lake Arrowhead home.

"Mountain lions are a protected mammal in California with possession of the animal or its parts illegal under Fish and Game Code 4800," the sheriff's office said.

Mark Jeffrey Kirk, 55, a resident of the home, was found to be in possession of .14 ounces of methamphetamine. Another individual on the property, Skylar Martinez, 27, was found to be under the influence of a controlled substance.

Kirk was arrested on charges of illegal possession of a mountain lion and possession of a controlled substance. Martinez was arrested on a charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance. They were both booked into the Central Detention Center.